If I Should Die Before I Wake
by cocoapurl
Summary: Edward Cullen is a Chicago Police Detective tracking a serial killer.  Bella Swan is a baker and restaurant manager that came to Chicago to start a new chapter in her life. Their worlds will collide in a way that will alter both of them forever.
1. Chapter 1

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

****DBW*****

June 19, 1985

Chicago, IL 9:30PM "The Copherbox"nightclub South Side of Chicago

_Now I lay me down to sleep,_  
_I pray for God my soul to keep;_  
_Or if I die before I wake,_  
_I pray for God my soul to take._

**Now I Lay me Down to Sleep** – 18th Century Children's Prayer

Chapter 1

"PUT YOUR GUN DOWN, ARO! Nobody has to get hurt here."

"Anthony, Anthony, Anthony, or is it Reggie Williamson? How lovely to finally know your true identity. Don't you know no matter what I do right now you're already a dead man?" Aro Volturi hissed his words out like a snake.

He had started to suspect Anthony wasn't who he said he was about a week earlier. However, his wife used her inside connection to find out Special Agent Reggie Williamson of the F.B.I. had infiltrated deep into the organization. He knew that if he wasn't arrested today a member of his family would do much worse that what these cops could ever do to him. He had been the one who doled out punishments to those who put the family in danger. He didn't want to go to prison, but he didn't want to be tortured to death either. He was running out of options and was angry this man he trusted like a son, despite the fact he was an eggplant, had betrayed him. He wanted him dead.

He was holding his pregnant wife Jane in front of him as a shield, flicking his tongue in and out his mouth and fidgeting from side to side. His forehead was glistening and his slicked back black ponytail was plastered to his neck and head. Jane was rubbing her hand over her swollen stomach, sobbing, cursing at Reggie and spitting in his direction. She hated a traitor and if her husband died today and she came through this alive she would make sure he paid for his deceit.

The stench from the garbage in the alley they were in was almost overpowering. The humidity and heat in Chicago in June just concentrated the smell. Sweat was rolling down Reggie's back and chest and he was determined to see this to the end and get to his son's birthday party the next day. He was slowly losing patience waiting to make his move to disarm and arrest Aro Volturi. Shooting a pregnant woman, even to take down this animal, was not acceptable.

The Volturi family and their associates had flooded the community that Agent Williamson grew up in with drugs and had turned the place he loved into a crime infested drug den. They were like vampires. They sucked the life out of everything around them. The level of violence and the lack of regard for human life he had witnessed had to be stopped. There were snipers ready to respond if all failed with Reggie on the ground.

"Aro, you can't be as big of a fucking coward as I think you are. You are surrounded by F.B.I. and Chicago PD. If you value the lives of your wife and child at all, you will let her go."

The atmosphere was getting tenser by the second. Aro's bodyguards, Demetri and Felix Moreli, were flanking his left and right side slightly to the rear poised to respond if anything happened to their boss. They looked ready to die today. He couldn't understand that type of loyalty to a man that would use his pregnant wife as a shield.

"Edward? Edward Masen?" A drunken man that recognized him came stumbling into the alley from the club.

He had asked Chicago PD, particularly Detective Liam O'Keefe, to clear the nightclub of any patrons and have an officer or agent on each exit.

Jane looked at the man and lifted one corner of her mouth in a knowing grin. The inside connection had told her that he suspected Agent Williamson was not his real name, but hadn't had time to dig any further before this happened.

_Stand down. Stand down. It's just a drunk guy coming out of the bar. Why hasn't the bar been cleared out? Edward spoke lowly into his communication device. But he didn't get a response._

_Fucking O'Keefe!_

"Sir, go back inside now."

The man stopped abruptly with a mixture of bewilderment and fear on his face, but walked back inside soberly.

All of a sudden a car backfired. Thinking it was gunfire, Agent Alistair Martin, a sniper on the roof, sent a clean shot to Aro's head that killed him instantly. He fell, pulling his wife down with him. She screamed like a banshee. Demetri and Felix took a shot at Agent Williamson, he returned fire killing Felix, but took a shot in the shoulder from Demetri. He slumped against the wall and fell to the ground holding his shoulder with only adrenaline keeping him from losing consciousness completely. Agent Martin shot and killed Demetri. In a matter of seconds it was all over.

He was expecting to hear the rest of his team clear the area, secure the scene, and get Jane Volturi handcuffed and in an ambulance. He was worried about her baby being harmed by how roughly Aro pulled her to the ground when he was shot. All he could hear was his own labored breathing as he struggled to get to his feet. She had managed to grab Aro's 9 MM Glock and just as Agent Williamson was almost standing she shot him in the chest above his bulletproof vest. He slumped back down to the ground and she stood over him pointing Aro's weapon.

"Because of you my husband is dead, Edward Masen. Pain to you and yours." As she fired off a bullet into his head, three F.B.I. Agents tackled her and wrestled the gun away.

Jane Volturi is now living on death row waiting to be executed for the murder of undercover F.B.I. Agent Edward Anthony Masen, Sr.

****DBW****

_Now I lay me down to sleep,_  
_I pray for God my soul to keep;_  
_Or if I die before I wake,_  
_I pray for God my soul to take._

Elizabeth and her son said this prayer every night before bedtime. She looked into his warm green eyes and kissed the top of his head that was full of soft curly auburn air. His cinnamon brown skin was still flushed from the giggle fest that was finally winding down now that it was bedtime. Apparently, everything was funny right before he had to go to sleep. She had just finished chasing him for twenty minutes to get him to take a bath and put on his Spiderman pajamas. She also had to hear him tell the corniest joke ever at least 15 times in his raspy, yet high-pitched and sweet, five year-old voice.

She chuckled because she used to do the same thing to her mother when she wanted to put off going to sleep. Elizabeth felt a slight pain in her chest when she thought about her estranged mother and how she had never met her grandson. She ran her fingers lovingly through Edward Jr.'s locks as he told the same joke again like it was the first time. His unruly curls never stayed in place and were a source of frustration for both of them. He hated to get it combed and cut and she hated to see him squirm and sniffle in the barber's chair.

"Did you get it mom? He doesn't have any feet. Get it?" Edward Jr. asked with his eyebrows raised and an emphatic hand gesture.

"Yeah, Yeah, I get it Eddie Murphy. Now, get in the bed. It's time to go to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow." He had a slightly sore throat that if she didn't nip in the bud, could turn into something worse. Okay, she knew she was slightly overprotective, but he was her first and only child. It came with the territory.

"Mommy, is that the man who pretends to be Mr. Rogers, but you and dad won't let me look at him because I'm too little?"

"Yes." She smiled because his expressions were so much like his father's, but she could see her family reflected in the way he scrunched up his nose when he asked a question, as well.

He rocked back and forth on the heels and toes of his little feet. She could see the wheels turning to try to get out of getting in the bed. She knew what was next, so she just picked him up and put him in the bed. She then proceeded to tuck him under his Spiderman comforter so tightly that he could hardly move his arms. He wiggled his arms out and grabbed his slightly battered teddy bear, Bobo, and held him to his chest.

"Snug as a bug in a rug. Is your throat still sore?"

"Just a little, but it's not too sore to have a birthday party."

She laughed and kissed him on the forehead because she knew how excited he was about turning six the next day.

"Will Aunt Esme and Carlisle be there?"

"Yes." Elizabeth knew if she didn't cut off his version of the game _Twenty Questions_, he would be up another thirty minutes.

"Will Aunt Carmen be there?"

"Yes."

"Will Grandma Masen be there with my favorite cake?"

"Yes, everybody will be there and no you cannot have another glass of water. Now, try to go to sleep because the faster you go to sleep, the faster tomorrow will come. You think you'll be okay for a few minutes while I go out and get you some medicine for your throat and some ice cream?"

"Strawberry!"

"Strawberry flavored medicine?"

"Yuck! Forget the medicine. Just get strawberry ice cream."

"I was going to get cough syrup flavored ice cream and strawberry flavored cough syrup."

"Mom!"

"Okay. Your wish is my command, Your Majesty. You want anything else? A million bucks maybe?"

"Just daddy. When will he be home?"

"Soon snuggle bug. Lights on or off?" Her heartbeat stuttered while she said a silent prayer hoping she was right. She was glad his undercover work had finally ended. Edward Jr. missed him terribly when he wasn't there and so did she.

"Off. I'm six now mom. I'm not a baby."

"Not until tomorrow. You're my baby for a few more hours, yet. I'll be gone for five minutes and I'll be right back. I love you."

"Love you."

She hit the remote to raise the garage door, grabbed her purse, and went out the door that led to the garage. Just as she was reaching her hand out to open the driver's side door, she felt someone approach her and she turned around to see a man standing in front of her looking around nervously

"Elizabeth Masen, I'm Detective Liam O'Keefe. I work with your husband on the Volturi taskforce. I need you to come with me." He flashed his badge at her.

"What's going on?"

She immediately began to panic. Only two people knew who she was in Chicago, outside of her family; Director Henry Brown and the Division Chief Rhonda Devore who was also an IT Specialist. Rhonda was the one who fabricated Edward's identity. Elizabeth knew something had gone terribly wrong.

Her husband didn't trust Liam O'Keefe as far as he could throw him. After Edward met him the first time, he knew he was crooked. He couldn't prove it, but he was so sure of it that he expressed his concerns to Elizabeth about this man being there for the Aro Volturi arrest and he rarely talked about his work. The last time she spoke to her husband, Caius and Marcus Volturi, Aro's brothers and 2 heads of the three-headed monster that ran the Volturi family, had been taken into custody without so much as a hiccup of trouble. They were all supposed to be apprehended at the same time with two separate teams. Edward was vexed and uneasy because O'Keefe had practically insisted that he be on his team. He claimed that he knew Aro Volturi and the spots he frequented better than anyone since he was the Chicago Detective that had gone undercover to get close to Aro with no success. Edward insisted that was why he shouldn't be there. His superiors agreed with O'Keefe.

The Volturis were looking for a weapons man that could easily maneuver in and out of the South Side of Chicago who could be trusted. Chicago P.D. undercover had tried and failed. When Edward was offered this assignment, he and everyone else were aware there were leaks in the F.B.I. and in Chicago P.D. He had just transferred in from D.C. and nobody knew him in the Chicago office. With his military background and weapons training he knew that the information he gathered, if he could penetrate deep enough, would break up the Volturi family's criminal enterprise and he was personally vested in seeing that happen. The only thing he asked is that his wife's and child's identity be protected. Because of that request being granted, only a select few, including his wife, sister-in-law, Esme and brother-in law, Carlisle, knew his real name or that he was undercover at all. All trails led back to an Agent Reggie Williamson with no wife and child.

"Edward's in the hospital. He's been shot, but he's fine. He wanted me to come and get you and Edward Jr."

Her hand shot up to her mouth and tears stung the back of her eyes. She could hear her husband's voice in her head telling her to lie and protect their son.

"Our son isn't here. What hospital is Edward in? I can drive myself."

"Elizabeth, let me take you. I'm sure you don't want to drive at a time like this." He was standing close to her invading her personal space.

"Call me Mrs. Masen, Detective O'Keefe. Why hasn't the hospital called? Why is Chicago PD here instead of the F.B.I.?"

"If you would just come with me _Mrs. Masen_, all of your questions would be answered."

"No." Elizabeth stuck her chin out defiantly, balled up the fist of her left hand and reached out with her right hand to open her car door and drive away. She wanted this man as far away from her son as possible. "I'll just follow you, since you seem concerned about my safety."

"Ok. Then, I'll have to do this the hard way."

He reached out to grab her and carry her to his car, but Elizabeth kneed Liam in the crotch, stomped on his foot and used the flat of her hand to try to break his nose. She tried to get in her car and lock the door. But, Liam didn't go down. He pulled her away from the car and punched her in the jaw knocking her unconscious.

"Stupid bitch!"

Elizabeth Masen was found shot to death in her car in a ditch on the Dan Ryan. It was ruled gang-related.

***6 Hours Earlier***

"Hey, sis."

"Edward! Long time no see. I missed you."

She always gasped a little when she saw her brother-in-law. He was one of the most handsome men she had ever seen besides her husband Carlisle. He had rich creamy coffee brown skin that was practically flawless, intense chestnut brown eyes with a dark fringe of thick eyelashes that curled because of their length. His eyebrows were neatly trimmed. His hair was cut very low with deep waves and razor cut sideburns. There was a diamond stud in one ear and a goatee that surrounded his perfectly formed lips and brilliant white even smile. He was about 6'2" tall with a lean muscular build and slightly bowed legs. He had on jeans with no belt that hung a little low on his hips, black Converse and a black loose fitting t-shirt that displayed the tattoo he received while he was in the Marines and his biceps. The long silver link chain around his neck that was tucked behind his shirt was holding his dog tags. Edward Masen turned heads when he walked in a room. He seemed to be completely oblivious to it. She knew her sister, Elizabeth, had chosen a good man to marry. Their parents, The Platts, had disowned her for marrying a black man. They wanted her to marry a nice Irish-Catholic boy like Carlisle.

Edward laid the boxes he was holding down on her desk, turned to Esme and gave his sister-in-law a fierce hug. She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"How's my buckethead brother-in-law? He's still scared I'm gonna beat him in some one-on-one?"

Esme playfully slapped his arm.

"Hey, I wouldn't tease the man who's providing the venue for my son's birthday party."

"That's the difference between you and me, sis. I live on the edge."

They both smiled for a moment and then their faces turned somber.

"Esme, don't give me that 'Platt' look. I just got it from Elizabeth. You know I have no choice. This man has to be put away. We have to cut off the monster's head."

"What about EJ? What about your wife? Your family? What about Carlisle and me? We love you, Edward!"

"That's what I'm counting on, Esme."

He looked her directly in the eyes. He knew he was possibly saying good-bye to one of his favorite people in the world.

She inhaled sharply because she could sense what he was doing.

"Oh no you don't, Edward Anthony Masen! You find a way to come home to your wife and son. You got that, buddy?"

She poked him in the chest with her little index finger to punctuate those last four words. He grabbed her finger and kissed it softly. His wife had just done the same thing to him, only more forcefully, an hour earlier. The fire in her blue-grey eyes and the soft streaks of red in her caramel colored hair were so reminiscent of his wife Elizabeth's that he felt a pain shoot through his chest looking at her. He had to look away.

"I'm doing this _for_ EJ, Esme. Elizabeth knows this. Aro's a coward and nobody knows who I am. Even if they find out I'm F.B.I., I'm known as Agent Reggie Williamson. The Volturi know me as Anthony Richardson. I'm covered…This will go down smooth."

"I don't know why you feel you have to be there. You've done your job. You got the information to take them down. Let somebody else do the takedown or whatever you call it."

Edward had worked his way so completely into the inner circle of the Volturi family that there wasn't much they wouldn't say or do around him. There was more than enough evidence for the RICO charges against them to stick thanks to his tenacity and diligence.

He smiled his lopsided smile at the passion in her voice and the feeling of déjà vu he was having. Elizabeth had said the same thing to him after they made love earlier that morning with her tiny arms hugging his neck and her legs straddling his waist with a vice grip like she was trying to trap him there. He had gently wiped the tears from her green eyes, ran his fingers through her coppery hair and kissed her until she calmed down and they slipped into another lovemaking session.

"Jeez. You're such a macho blockhead! Go say hi to Carlisle. I'm pretty sure he's done with his patient. He's in Exam Room 1."

"Did you two disinfect and wipe down everything in there. I'm still trying to bleach my brain from what I walked in on the last time."

Esme turned beet red and punched him on the arm. He mouthed "Ow!" and rubbed his arm like he had been severely injured.

"Little people are strong." She playfully punched him again in the stomach.

"If you would knock first, you wouldn't walk in on these things. Even little EJ knows to knock first."

"You better believe I schooled him on knocking first after what I saw. This is a doctor's office for God's sake. You young whipper-snappers need to get some control over your hormones."

"What? Whipper-snappers? Grandpa? At least we didn't get _arrested_ for public indecency, Mr. F.B.I. Agent."

"Why are you always bringing up the past?"

"Leave me alone. Go bother Carlisle."

They both laughed

He pointed to the cake boxes.

"My mom made these for the birthday party tomorrow. Would it be safe for me to put one of the boxes in the refrigerator here, or should I take it to the house."

"Sure. You'll just have to make room in there. What kind is it?" She went to peek in one of the boxes. He lightly slapped her hand.

"What are the magic words?"

"Move your hands before I punch you again?"

"Such violence." He opened one of the cake boxes and showed her the angel food sheet cake with strawberry filling and lemon icing. His son's favorite.

"That looks great, Edward. Your mom's the best."

He winked at her and grinned, "I know this."

He closed up the box carefully and walked to the employee's break room to put it in the refrigerator. He walked back to the office area where he found Esme on the phone. He playfully gave her a noogie, grabbed the other box and walked into Exam Room 1.

"Big C! Is it safe to come in?" Carlisle's face always made Edward smile. He had the kindest eyes he had ever seen. He had a gift for reading people and could tell a kind soul a mile away.

"Masen!"

They gave each other a manly greeting that usually consisted of a pat on the back and a standard handshake. But, Edward taught Carlisle how to give him 'dap' or a 'soul brotha' handshake that Carlisle thought was more complicated than the necessary to say hello when he first showed it to him. However, it was becoming second nature to him now.

"You're getting better at giving dap, man. There's hope for you, yet. I thought you were hopelessly white."

Carlisle laughed because he did struggle with the complicated handshakes Edward extended to him when they first met.

"Am I an honorary brotha, now?"

"You're almost there. Hey, thanks man for holding the party at your house."

He patted him on the back again.

"You know I'd do anything for EJ. You…not so much."

"Whatever, man. I put my mom's sheet cake in the refrigerator. It's EJs favorite."

"I love your mom's cakes. Your son might not get any."

"I know you love my mom's cakes. Ta daaa."

He handed Carlisle a smaller round cake box.

"It's German Chocolate Cake. Mom made this just for you. I guess she likes you or something. I don't know why."

He smiled at how Carlisle's face lit up as he reached out for the cake like he was five-years old.

"I have to stop by and thank your mom."

"You know she'll be happy to see you."

The room grew silent for a moment.

"So, everything is happening tonight, huh?"

Carlisle sat on the edge of the examining table holding his cake like it was buried treasure and Edward leaned against the wall with his arms folded and feet crossed at the ankle.

"I've been trying to assure Lizzie and Esme, but things can go very badly tonight, C. Promise me if something happens EJ will get a good education and stay out of trouble. Keep him safe."

"I promise. You know he's like a son to me, too. Since we found out we can't have kids…well, when EJ was born it felt like we had a son, too."

They both quickly wiped tears from their eyes that they didn't want to shed in front of another man.

"Do you have to do this?"

"I have to be there, C. I have to finish what I started. There are men on my team that I don't trust. If I'm not there, things may not go as planned."

Carlisle walked up and put his hand on Edward's shoulder.

"You'll make it back, Masen. Do you doubt your skills as an officer? You're the best from what you tell me. Besides, somebody so annoying can't be taken out that easily."

"Yo' mama. But, seriously man, it's all written down in our will. If something happens to Elizabeth and me, you and Esme take EJ."

"What about your mother and your sister, Carmen?"

"They know my wishes." Carlisle never saw him as serious as he was at this moment. He felt like they had known each other their entire lives.

"Well then, everything will go as you wish, Edward."

He looked down bashfully thinking about what he was about to say.

"You know I love you, Edward, like my flesh and blood. You're my only brother. Try your best to come home to us. We don't want to lose you."

"You're my only brother too, Carlisle and I love you. That's why it's ok. Whatever happens is ok. We take out some bad guys and get some of these drugs off the street and if something bad happens I know my wife and son have family to depend on."

Carlisle nodded and held his head down trying to imagine what life would be like without Edward's friendship to count on. He couldn't remember life before it. Edward gave him another hug.

"Hey man, I'll always be here for you. Even when I'm gone, I'll haunt you and make sure you miss every ball you swing at in that batting cage where you try to recapture your youth."

Carlisle laughed, nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"First of all, stop talking like you're not coming home. Secondly, kiss my ass. Lastly, it is nice to know you'll never stop being a pain in my ass, even in the spirit world." Carlisle looked at clock at the same time Edward looked at his watch. They both let out a soft sigh.

"I'm out, C. I have to do few things before tonight."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow." The statement came out more like a question.

"See you tomorrow. Don't eat all that cake. Let Esme have some." He winked at him and walked out the exam room.

Once outside the door, he let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding in and walked back into the lobby.

"Anthony?" Edward's head snapped in the direction of Jane Volturi's voice.

"Jane? What are you doing here?" He bent down and kissed her cheek trying to conceal his nervousness and confusion.

She pointed at her stomach, "Ultrasound. You?"

"I was just dropping something off for a friend. Why didn't you go to your regular doctor?"

"She's out of town and I heard Dr. Cullen was the best."

"Did you come by yourself?"

"No. Demetri brought me. He's in the car."

"Well, I hope everything goes well and I'll see you later for dinner then."

"Yeah, I'll see you later."

Esme approached her desk from the restroom. She looked up at Edward to tell him good-bye and give him a hug. He shook his head slightly, but there was such warning in it, it stopped her in her tracks. She thought she even heard him growl.

She immediately averted her eyes and went to her desk.

"Jane Anderson, Dr. Cullen can see you now."

Edward suddenly realized why Carlisle agreed to see Jane Volturi on as a patient. He didn't know who she was. She had used her maiden name to make this doctor's appointment. She did that when she didn't want the scrutiny from being a Volturi. He left the building praying that everything would go as smoothly as possible that evening. He nodded at Demetri as he passed him in the awaiting car, jumped into his Nissan Maxima and drove away back to the last few hours of his life as Anthony Richardson/Special Agent Reggie Williamson before he became Special Agent Edward Masen again.

Once Jane left the doctor's appointment and got into the awaiting car, she immediately made a phone call.

"Detective O'Keefe, do you have anything for me?"

****DBW****

**A/N: The Copherbox was a real night club on the South Side of Chicago that was pretty popular in the 80s. Yes, the name is as bad as it sounds. It's pronounced cop-her-box and you can probably surmise what that means. ;) I would love to hear what you think so far. **


	2. Chapter 2

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**This is a long one. I was going to break it up into two chapters, but Bella keeps kicking me in the shin because she's ready to tell me her story. So, I combined the chapters.**_

****DBW*****

August 1, 2010, 4PM, Cullen Home, Naperville, IL

Chapter 2 – Mae Mae's Birthday

"Ewww, Edward that's nasty! I don't know where your lips have been. If you're still with that hooker Tanya, I definitely don't want you kissing me."

Edward chuckled at his baby sister and kissed her again blocking her hand from wiping it away, as she did before.

"We broke up a year ago. You and I haven't talked much since you ran away to New York. I'm glad you're back now. Happy Birthday, Mae Mae!"

"Ugggghhh, I hate that name. You are such a pain in the ass, _Teddy_." Edward winced. He hated when she called him that.

"Wait. You broke up with Tanya a year ago? Isn't she here today?"

"Yep." He popped the "P" to denote his irritation.

"I told you not to waste your time with her. I could see she wasn't your soul mate."

"Soul mate? No, little one, my soul wasn't involved with Tanya. It was lust at first sight. I convinced myself I had feelings for her."

"Was it worth it? I mean, she looks like every man's wet dream."

"Ha! Not really. It was fun sometimes. But, she's so superficial and selfish things got kind of one-sided, or maybe it was me. I tend to hurt the people closest to me."

"Don't start with that shit, Edward Cullen! You're the best brother a girl could ask for and a good egg. All you need to do now is start trusting what I see. You'd save yourself a lot of hassle."

He gently stroked her cheek. He remembered what a beautiful little girl she was when his mother brought her home. Esme sat her on his bed and told him she was his new little sister and she reached over and grabbed his hand immediately. He thought she looked like a miniature angel. She had big hazel brown eyes, a shock of long jet black hair, pale almost translucent skin and a glowing energy around her that literally sent an awakening jolt to his heart.

"So, were you surprised dad threw you a birthday party?"

"Oh my god! A birthday barbeque? Hello! Have we met? These things have to be planned," Alice said with a level of exasperation that only she could achieve regarding a birthday party. The deck and the yard were full of childhood friends, college friends, and work colleagues of all three of the Cullen children. Edward had stopped and socialized with a few before he spotted his baby sister looking like a living doll and he ran over to get his hug.

"It's the thought that counts, Mae Mae. Everyone is not as talented or as enthusiastic as you when it comes to event planning."

Emmett ran up behind her, picked her up, and ran with her tucked under his arm like a football.

"Monster, catch!"

He pretended like he was going to toss her to Edward.

"I swear to God! If you tear this Calvin Klein dress I will rip your balls off and feed them to you."

"Mae Mae, such language!"

Mary Alice Cullen did not like people to use her first name or any derivative of it. Of course that's why her brothers did it.

"Animal, toss her right over here." Edward stood poised to receive the pass.

"You better not throw me anywhere, Emmett!"

"Put that child down now, Emmett Cullen," an authoritative voice commanded.

Edward and Emmett immediately stopped playing and Alice was set down.

"Yes, ma'am," Emmett said as though he were a little boy and not the gargantuan man he was.

"Grandma Masen!" Alice ran and hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you made it. Thank you for saving me from these jackasses."

"Alice, you watch your mouth." Alice held her head down repentantly. "Now, come help me into the kitchen and let those jackasses stay out here and annoy somebody else."

She grinned widely while she let Shirley Masen take her arm and they slowly walked towards the kitchen.

"What'd ya get me? What'd ya get me? Did you bring me a cake?"

"What are you 12? Calm down!" Shirley's gait was slow, but her mind was still as quick as ever and her tongue was just as sharp.

Alice pouted at the woman she adopted as her own grandmother the moment she met her.

When they walked into the kitchen, Esme was standing there in an apron up to her elbows in side dishes to go with the barbeque Carlisle was making.

"Hi, sweetheart," Shirley cooed sweetly when she saw Esme.

"Shirley! When did you get here?" Esme dropped what she was doing and hugged the woman she thought of as her mother-in-law.

"Just a few minutes ago I had to stop Emmett from tossing little Alice like a football."

They both stifled a giggle while Alice stood there with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm so glad you made it. You drove here by yourself?" Shirley would be 80 this year and her vision was becoming poor due to diabetes.

"Yes. I'm not blind, yet." Before Esme could protest Shirley interrupted her.

"I hired a new pastry chef. She's excellent. She's from a place called Forks, Washington. I thought that was a good omen for my new pastry chef to be from a place named after an eating utensil."

"That's great. Then you'll be slowing down a little finally."

"Well, I want to get her settled in, but I think she'll do fine."

Edward walked in the kitchen and grabbed a meatball off of a plate on the counter and shoved it in his mouth. Esme hit him on the hand with the wooden spoon she was holding.

"Keep out of my food, EJ. Everything will be ready soon."

A throat cleared behind him.

"You can't say hello to your own grandmother, Edward."

He unleashed his lopsided grin and sparkly hazel-green eyes on his tiny grandmother. He walked over and squatted close to the floor to kiss her on the cheek while she sat in her chair.

"Hi, Grandma. You should have called me. I would've driven you here. How are you?"

"You're busy Edward. I didn't want to bother you and I'm doing fine. I'll be better when you go get that cake out of my car and bring it in here."

"Grandma, you could never bother me. I'm never too busy for my favorite lady."

Esme cleared her throat and smiled at him. Edward shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Ma. She makes cakes."

"I knew it. I knew it. Did you make my favorite?" Alice was squealing, jumping up and down, and clapping.

Shirley smiled at the Lilliputian standing next to her bouncing.

"Of course I did; 7-up Cake with lemon icing."

Alice leaped forward and hugged Shirley tightly.

"Okay. Okay. I need to breathe, little one."

"Sorry. Edward, go forth and bring me my cake," Alice said with a regal wave and dismissal with her hand.

"Grandma, why did you stop us from tossing her?"

Emmett came in and headed right towards the meatballs, as Edward did. Esme whipped around wielding the spoon like a weapon.

"Oh no, buddy! Go wash your hands and stay out of my food. Everything will be ready soon."

"Emmett, I don't recall getting a hug or a kiss from you. What? Are you too big to kiss your grandmother?"

Emmett smiled brightly showing off his deep dimples and folding himself over to hug Shirley.

"Hi, Grandma."

It was hard to believe the kids were all grown. When they were all together they all seemed to revert back to childhood.

Rosalie Cullen, Emmett's wife since they graduated high school, walked into the kitchen with Tanya Williams. They were both stunningly beautiful. Rosalie looked like she just stepped off the pages of Vogue with her 5'11" frame, slim hips, long legs, blond hair and sky blue eyes. The only difference between her and a runway model was that she had real breasts and she looked like she had eaten a sandwich within the decade. Tanya was equally as tall with a tiny waist, an athletic build, and long legs. She had slightly slanted light brown eyes and curly red hair that hung to her shoulders, a full pouty mouth and milk chocolate brown skin.

"Hi, Shirley," Rosalie bent down towards the diminutive woman and kissed her on her cheek. Shirley smiled brightly at her. Tanya did the same and her smile disappeared.

"You look well, Shirley." Tanya stated in her nasally voice.

"I'm Mrs. Masen, Tanya and thank you. You look…well, too," she said rather coldly.

She never understood her grandson's attraction to this woman outside of the physical. She was a Honey Bear, one of the cheerleaders for the Chicago Bears. She started out flirting with Emmett, since he was the star quarterback, until she saw she couldn't compete with his feelings for Rosalie, so she moved on to Edward."

"I see your skirt is actually covering your ass today."

Everybody in the room stifled a giggle and busied themselves, while Tanya stood there with her mouth hanging open. She huffed and stormed outside where Edward was getting the cake.

Everybody finally released the laugh they were holding in.

Carlisle walked into the kitchen to see why everyone was laughing after setting a tray of barbeque on the dining room table.

"Shirley? I didn't think you were coming, Ma. I would've given you a ride here."

"I didn't think things would go so smoothly with the new girl. Besides, I'm not handicapped, yet."

"Of course not, but maybe I wanted to be in the company of a beautiful woman."

"Hey! What am I chopped liver?" Esme feigned offense.

"I'm sorry, Esme, but she makes cake."

"See, they only love me for my cake," Shirley said with mock anger.

****DBW****

As Edward turned away from his grandmother's black Cadillac CTS, Tanya came towards him with an angry expression.

"What's the deal with your grandmother, Edward? She is always so mean to me and I try to be as nice as I can."

"Tanya, I'm sorry about my grandmother. She can be blunt. You know this. But, why are you here? We broke up a year ago and you're not being very fair to me or yourself to keep popping up at family functions."

"Look, Rosalie is my friend. I'm not going to stop hanging out with my friend because we aren't together anymore."

"Then, why are you out here with me complaining about my grandmother? Why don't you complain to Rose?"

"I thought we were still friends, too."

"Friends respect each other's wishes."

"Friends invite each other to birthday parties. I was invited by Rose."

"Fine, then don't complain to me about my grandmother since you want to be here so badly. Excuse me."

He walked around her towards the house. He used to think she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Now that he knew what was under the wrapping, he wondered what he ever saw in her.

"What's the deal, Edward? From what I can tell, you're not seeing anyone else. Was what we had so bad that you won't even consider starting over?"

"What happened to Rick, Sean, Harry, Dennis…Did you run out of room for notches on your headboard?

"You're one to talk Edward Cullen. Before we started dating you had your fair of women?"

"Funny not one of the 'fair share' occurred while we were together, Tanya. I was with you only. I don't ask for a lot. I only ask for loyalty. You can't even give that."

"I'm not a dog, Edward. You never let me in."

"I let you in. What I gave just wasn't good enough for you. I'm done talking about this. The icing on my sister's cake is melting."

"You need to cut that mess off your head."

"Excuse me."

"Those dread locks…You're a grown man. You should look like it."

"My _locs_ represent much more to me than my youth, Tanya. You don't get to give me grooming advice anymore. That's a girlfriend privilege.

By the way, I'm glad you wore a skirt that covered your ass today."

"You didn't mind the skirts I wore when you were ripping them off to fuck me."

"I thought you had enough sense not to dress that way in front of my parents and my grandmother. Anyway, those days have been over for a year now."

"Whatever you say, hypocrite," Edward put his sister's cake on the hood of his grandmother's car and pulled her firmly to his side by her arm so he could speak into her ear. He ground out these next words through clenched teeth, "Tanya, I think I've been more than fair about you being around my family when I don't want you here. If you keep coming around causing discord, I will make sure you never come around here again."

"Is that a threat, Edward?" Tanya asked defiantly, but the tremble in her voice indicated she received the message loud and clear.

"That's a promise, Tanya." He released her, picked up the cake and started back towards the house again.

Tanya got in her car and yelled out the window as she was peeling out of the driveway, "Tell Rose I'll call her later, asshole!"

He would never hit a woman and Tanya knew that better than anyone. But, she knew he was a man of his word. He couldn't understand why Rose kept inviting Tanya to these functions. He had always clashed with his sister-in-law, but this was just too much.

When he made it back into the kitchen he carefully lifted Alice's cake out of the box and set it on the cake stand on the kitchen counter. Everyone else was out back on the deck. He walked just outside the French doors.

"Rose."

"What Edward?"

"Can I holla at you for a minute?"

Emmett's head whipped around towards his brother. He knew when Edward was irritated with his wife and thought he may have to referee.

"Edward, what's going on, man?"

"I just want to talk to Rose privately for a minute."

"It's okay, Em. I can handle Edward."

Rose walked calmly into the kitchen and lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow at Edward and waited for him to speak.

"Did you invite, Tanya?"

"No."

"How did she know about the party?"

"I don't know."

"Were you surprised when she showed up?"

"No. She always 'shows up.'" She stated using air quotes. "She figured you would be here I suppose."

"Are you two even friends anymore?"

"Were we ever? The bitch tried to steal my husband away from me."

"Then, why do you keep associating with her?"

"Hello, McFly. I don't hang with her. I turned around and the stalker was standing there. I thought you invited her. She followed me in the house. You need to set her straight."

"I've tried."

"Try harder. Are we done?"

"Yeah."

"I think you might have broken an interrogation record. The only other thing you needed was a bright bare bulb to shine in my eyes. When are you coming by to see your niece? She misses you."

"Where is she today?"

"She's with my mother."

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

Rose walked out as calmly as she came in.

Edward went upstairs to the third floor of his parents' home, which was always his floor, after his Rose encounter. He put down his messenger bag and sat on the familiar queen size sleigh bed. His mother hadn't changed a thing in his room. Esme always wanted her kids to feel that they had a home to come to when times were hard. He rubbed his hands sentimentally over the shelves that were now devoid of his music and movie collection and went into the en suite bath to splash some cold water on his face. The reflection staring back at him was tired. He had dark circles under his eyes and he noticed his hands were shaking slightly. An image of his baby sister's happiness to see him made him steel himself to going back down to the party. After he walked back downstairs and walked through the French doors off the kitchen that led to the deck, he grabbed a Heineken out of a cooler and sat next to his brother.

"What you been up to, Animal?" Edward was the only one that still called Emmett the nickname he acquired on the little league football field

"Just chillin', Monster." Emmett smiled to himself because he secretly loved it when they called each other by those nicknames. Emmett knew that Edward had a special place in his heart for Alice and he was never jealous. He just wanted to feel he had a special place, too.

"You don't call. You don't write." Edward said with mock heartache.

Emmett chuckled and his entire 6'3", 270 lb frame shook.

"I've fallen out of love with you, Edward."

"Say it ain't so." He gasped and held his hand over his heart.

Emmett batted his eyelashes at his brother and wiped away a mock tear.

"When are you coming by to see your niece?"

"Tomorrow. Rose didn't tell you."

"I try to steer clear of Rose after she talks to you, asshole."

"What? I didn't do anything."

"Not this time."

"Did dad tell you he's thinking about retiring?" Emmett took a swallow of his beer and nodded slowly.

"Yep. Weird isn't it?"

"We're getting old man."

"Speak for yourself, Monster. I'm only getting better. You know what I was thinking about the other day."

"You were thinking the other day?"

"Kiss my ass. Yes. I was thinking about our high school days when we played ball together your senior year. I miss you throwing the ball to me, man. You taught me everything I know."

"Yeah, I know. I never got that check." He waggled his eyebrows at his brother.

"I got your check swingin'." Edward laughed, reached over and lightly punched Emmett's arm. It registered that Emmett looked even bigger than the last time he saw him, if that were possible. How is a married man with a child still growing he wondered?

"Shit. Those were the days, Em. We can play a little after we eat."

"Can we? Gee, big brother. Thanks."

Edward reached over and gave his brother a noogie and kissed him on the cheek.

"I miss you man. I'll come around more often. Work is kickin' my ass."

"Good. If you don't start making time for your family, it won't be just work kickin' your ass. Let's eat. I'm starving."

"When are you not starving?"

"Cullen!" He turned and looked into the face of his new partner, Jasper Whitlock. He had wavy blond hair that was long enough to push behind his ears stuffed under a cowboy hat, midnight blue eyes, and a southern drawl. He had on jeans, a brown t-shirt, and cowboy boots. He had recently moved to Chicago from Texas. He was already a detective and so far Edward was very impressed with his police work, attention to detail, and his calming manner. He and Edward were the same height, 6'1". However, Jasper had the wiry physique of a martial artist, which made him look falsely unthreatening. The only thing that gave people caution was the deep crescent shaped scar on his chin. It looked like a bite mark. He had practiced various forms of Karate his entire life and taught self-defense to his fellow officers back in Texas. When he walked in the station and said, 'Howdy, ya'll,' Edward liked him immediately.

"Whitlock, you made it!"

"I don't say no to free food. I set your sister's present on the counter in the kitchen. Is that okay?

"You brought my sister a present?"

Jasper laughed and put his hand on his new partner's shoulder as though he was preventing him from falling over.

"Yes. I also brought your mom some flowers, your dad a box of cigars, and some baked chicken from KFC. I don't come to parties empty-handed. What do you think I am…a mess?"

"Well, you can come to a party at the Cullen house any time."

"Jasper Whitlock this is my brother, Emmett Cullen. Emmett this is Jasper."

"The Emmett Cullen of the Chicago Bears Emmett Cullen?"

Emmett smiled widely, "The one and only. Where are you from, man?"

"Dallas, Texas."

"What do you know about the Bears? Aren't you a Cowboys fan?"

"Yeah, but you can't live on planet Earth without knowing about Emmett Cullen. You're one of the best quarterbacks in the league."

"Aw shucks. You're making me blush. Thanks. It's nice to meet you." They continued talking football until Esme announced that the food was ready to be served.

The food was set up buffet style. So, everyone started to help themselves.

"Excuse me everybody. I have an announcement." Edward yelled out and the chatter died down enough to hear him. "I want to introduce you to my new partner, Jasper Whitlock. He's in Chicago all the way from Dallas, so let's make him feel at home."

"Howdy ya'll." He tipped his hat to everyone.

Esme walked to him. "Jasper it's so nice to meet you. I take it you brought these lovely sunflowers."

"Yes, ma'am," Jasper responded politely in his southern drawl and took off his hat in the presence of the lady.

"Thank you and please call me Esme. I'll take your hat for you."

Edward fixed a plate and a drink for his grandmother first and walked it over to her.

"Here you go, grandma. Let me know when you want your dessert."

"Thanks, hon. I don't eat dessert. Don't worry about me." The irony of a woman who spends her entire day around sugary sweets not being able to indulge was not lost on him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you might be able to have a sliver occasionally." He gave his grandmother a contrite look. She scowled at him momentarily and then the corner of her mouth lifted up in a half-grin. She took her index finger and the thumb of her left hand and brought them close together.

"Occasionally, I do have a sliver, but not today, sweetie." She motioned for him to come closer and she gave him a kiss and a pat on the cheek.

He finally fixed his plate and looked around for a place to sit. He noticed Alice sitting awfully close to his partner and smiling at him adoringly. It looked like the adoration was mutual.

He went and sat next to Carlisle. He loved to be in the presence of his adopted father because he was such a kind man with a great sense of humor. Even if he didn't love him, he would like him as a person. They were best friends.

"Pop."

"Son."

"I think we made a love connection."

"I'm already married." Edward gave him a side-eyed glance.

"Not you and me. Alice and Jasper."

"Hmpf. He seems like a nice young man. Those cigars he brought are top notch. I might trade Alice for another box."

"That's cold."

"I'd trade you for a cigarette and a forever stamp."

"Damn."

"I made a decision."

"Good. About what?"

"I'm definitely retiring. I sold the practice to a young doctor that just finished his residency. He wants to be a General Practitioner. I told him Godspeed. Suckerrr."

"Did you get a good price?"

"He handed me a cashier's check for 5 million dollars. He told me his father put up the money."

"5 Million? I'm in the wrong business. You want me to run a background check on him."

"Shit. As long as the check clears, I could care less."

"What are you gonna do now."

"Nothing. Volunteer. Make love to your mother. Travel."

"Hold up! T.M.I." Edward shuddered and shook his head as though he were trying to erase images from his head like an Etch-a-Sketch.

"Oh, grow up, Edward. You're just like your father, you know that?

There was a small silence.

"Firstly, you're my father, Carlisle and secondly…you still miss him, don't you?"

"Every day. I wish you knew him better."

"I remember the good things. I know he was a hero. He wasn't around much sometimes because of work. I know him by the company he kept. He preferred the company of a good man like you. He must've been a good man and handsome, too. I mean look at me."

They both started laughing

"Get out of here." Carlisle laughed so hard he almost spit out his beer.

"You know I'm just kidding."

"No. You are a handsome devil." Carlisle put his arm around his son's shoulder. "I ran across some pictures of your mom and dad I haven't given you. I'll get those to you as soon as I can."

"Alright, pop."

Edward's cell rang.

"Cullen."

"Sorry to bother you on your day off, Edward. There's a homicide with the same M.O. as your perp_._ I thought you would want to come take a look at the scene."

"Thanks, Lisa. Where are you?"

"87th and Racine."

"I'll be there in about 30 minutes."

Edward stood up and hugged his father good-bye.

"I wouldn't leave if it wasn't important."

"Go do your job, son. We'll be here. Be careful."

"I always am. Pop, make sure grandma gets home safe."

"Will do. Don't worry."

He went and hugged Alice good-bye.

"You're leaving?" Alice pulled out her most adorable pout.

"Yeah, it's about a case I've been working on for a while. I have to go. I'll make it up to you."

"I understand. Thanks for being here, my Edward." She reached up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.

"Of course, my Mae Mae. If you go into the city, do not go alone, especially at night. You got that?" She nodded mutely. Serious Edward could be pretty scary and Alice did not want to fight with him about her safety.

"Jasper, you want to roll out with me?" Jasper jerked his head around as though he were being snatched out of a mental fog. Edward walked to the closet in the foyer and grabbed his partner's hat.

"Yep, let's roll." He gently picked up Alice's hand to kiss it. "It was very nice to meet you, Alice. Happy Birthday."

"Thanks for the present, Jazz. You didn't have to."

"It was my pleasure."

Alice giggled and blushed as her hazel eyes twinkled.

"Cut the shit, Whitlock. Here's your hat."

"Em, we'll toss the ball around tomorrow alright."

"Sure we will. That's what they all say." Emmett and Edward hugged good-bye.

Edward walked past Rose and nodded at her.

"Tomorrow." She gave him the universal two-finger sign for 'I've got my eyes on you and reminding him to stop by and see his niece. He rolled his eyes.

"Bye, grandma. Let dad make sure you get home."

"Bye, boy. I'll get home the same way I got here. Stop hovering over me. I'm glad you're not with that Tanya any more. I never liked her." Edward chuckled as he hugged the very opinionated soon to be octogenarian whom he loved dearly.

"I know this. Don't be stubborn. Let pop drive you home."

"Yeah. Yeah." She waved her hand dismissively and went back to sit down.

Esme hugged Edward at the door.

"Can't you learn to do accounting or something?"

"Ma, we've been over this. I have to go. I love you more than chocolate."

"I guess that's real love." She kissed her oldest son on the cheek. "It was nice to meet you, Jasper. You're welcome anytime."

"Esme, thank you for having me in your lovely home," Jasper tipped his hat and winked at Esme.

"Stop flirting with my mother and let's go, _Jazz_."

Jasper and Edward walked down the stairs into the warm late summer night.

"You have a nice family, Cullen."

"I know this."

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Yeah, you're a regular laugh riot."

"Where are we going?" Jasper finally asked when they were closer to their cars and farther away from the house.

"87th and Racine. There's been another homicide. Officer McDaniels was the first to respond. She thinks it has the same M.O. as _The Night Stalker_.

"Is Lisa going to turn the crime scene over to us?"

"Well, if she's right, I believe she will. That'll make sixteen girls, Whitlock. We have to stop this motherfucker." Edward ran his right hands through his locs, tugging on them in frustration and stopped to twist one with his fingers; a nervous habit he picked up from Carlisle a while ago.

"You want to ride with me?" Jasper's question pulled Edward out of his mental self-flagellation.

"Nah, man. I'll meet you there. You know your way?"

"You're talking to a Navy man. I always know my way. Well, it helps that I have GPS in the truck."

"Navy man my ass. I'll be right behind you. It should only be 30 minutes from Naperville at this time of night. "

"I'll see you there."

Edward called after him, "Hey, and don't let the brothas give you shit about that damn hillbilly pick-up truck."

Jasper laughed and very joyfully stuck his hand with the middle finger pointed out the window while he yelled out,

"Yeeeeee haaaaaaawwww!"

****DBW****

Edward watched Jasper drive away in his red Ford F-150 pick-up truck. He thought about how quickly his sister took to him and smiled. He would be sure to give him shit about it, though. When he thought about where Jasper was headed the peaceful mask he wore to get through his days melted away.

87th and Racine was in the heart of the South Side of Chicago. It was gang central and they didn't drive pick-ups. _The Newborns_, or _Predators_, as they were known on the street, ruled that area of the city with a ferocious violence that made the most hardened thug stay clear of the area. They drove Mercedes E 550 Coupes with light panels underneath, spinning rims, and tinted windows. The area had been predominately white in the late 1950's up until the late 1970's. Once the first black family moved in, all the white families moved out and it changed the whole landscape. Businesses left, the tax base diminished and the detritus followed. There were a few mom and pop shops that survived and a couple of electronics stores left, but it was not a thriving community.

During the "War on Drugs" years of the Reagan Administration, a historically violent and callous gang war began in the area between rival black gangs, _The Apostles_ and _The_ _Dark Knights_, to control the territory for drugs and other vices. Crack cocaine flooded the area like a deluge and there were was no ark like in Noah's day. If you were fortunate enough to have enough money to move to the suburbs, that was as close as you were going to get to escape. Innocent people were savagely murdered, residents of the area were scared to come out of their homes and crack addiction was quick and thorough. _The Apostles_ beat _The Dark Knights_ back and they controlled the neighborhood with fear and without much interference from Chicago P.D. The police that weren't on their payroll wanted to go home to their families at night.

Then, around 2000, an equally vicious gang migrated to the area from Washington, the Seattle area. They were called The Newborns. The violence escalated to unprecedented proportions during the power exchange. Chicago P.D. was already ineffective and weary from dealing with the bloody rampages of _The Apostles_. This new gang was merciless. They fought hard, up close and personal. They bought new drugs to the street that made crack look like child's play.

_The Apostles_ sprayed innocent people with bullets as they drove by trying to hit a target. That's how they initiated members. They had kids, as young as 11, ride in the passenger seat of a car, drive by and shoot a random person to prove they could kill. But, The Newborns were the exact opposite. They didn't do long distance violence. They used knives, hand-to-hand combat, and Mafia-style execution with weapons; three shots to the heart and one in the head. Their leader, Riley Monroe, aka _Scout_, and the rest of his pack had taken over the South Side of Chicago in a matter of 6 months and, as of 2010, were still holding it down. Most law-abiding citizens, no matter what race, religion, or income level stayed out of that area when the sun went down.

This is what made Edward even more nervous about the latest suspected killing of The_ Night Stalker._ He was becoming more bold and fearless the longer it was taking to catch him. The victims were all white females with brunette hair, college age, and petite. The killings started in the Hyde Park area of Chicago. The killing radius had immediately started to expand further South. In Hyde Park, the victim wouldn't have been very conspicuous. It was a racially diverse area and a college neighborhood. That actually made getting any eyewitness to these women being snatched off the street even more difficult. But, on 87th and Racine, a person dumping a petite, brunette, college-aged white woman off in the middle of the street, as was the M.O., had to stand out to somebody.

He slid into the passenger seat of his Silver Volvo C70, which usually made him feel safe and secure, although he knew it was a false sense of security. He would take any sense of security he could get. However, it wasn't working this time. The bravado he put on to endure his sister's birthday party was falling away quickly.

His younger sister, Alice, had left for New York, at the end of 2008, to pursue a career as an Event Planner and she worked in her spare time as a Personal Assistant. Initially, she had a steady pace of clientele, but the continuing recession caused her client roster to dwindle and her business costs to skyrocket. She decided trying to stick it out in New York City was too expensive and came home to Chicago to cut down on her costs.

When his sister called him and told him when and why she was coming home, part of him wanted to demand her to stay in New York. Alice was _The Night Stalker's_ type. He offered to help her out with money. He had more than he could ever spend in his lifetime. He had inherited his father's pension and his mother's portion of the Platt inheritance. Apparently, they weren't callous enough to cut her out of her inheritance for marrying a black man. They just cut their daughter and grandchild out of their lives. Their change of heart may have had something to do with the verbal smack down Esme put on her parents when she found out what they had done to her sister. He had never touched the money from the Platts, but he had it and would use it for Alice.

Cullen was scared to death that this maniac's killing spree would end in one of his family members being hurt. He already felt like a failure for not being able to do more to stop him. He and his team were working with local F.B.I. tracking _The Night Stalker's_ behavior and patterns. In fact, he was working with Special Agent Alistair Martin who says he was a good friend of his biological father. He was curious about any special insight Alistair may have had into his father's personality, but he didn't ever push for information.

His lack of progress on this case was causing him to be a nervous wreck. He hadn't had any sleep lately and when he finally fell asleep from pure exhaustion, he had the most vivid nightmares that he had experienced since he was a child. He drove himself to the emergency room one night when he had difficulty breathing and was having chest pains. His father's colleague and protégé, Dr. Jacob Black, looked him over, ran some tests and told him it was just a panic attack. Dr. Black had become a good friend to Edward and he had confided in him that he wasn't getting much sleep and he was more anxious than he had ever been in his life, which is saying a lot. Dr. Black gave him some anti-anxiety meds and some sleeping pills. He couldn't take the sleeping pills because he could get called out of his sleep in the middle of the night and couldn't drive under the influence and hurt someone. He didn't need anything more on his conscious to haunt him every night.

Edward's hands were shaking more visibly now. He was dreading looking into the eyes of another murdered woman. As soon as he resigned himself to hit the road, his phone rang.

"Cullen."

"How was the barbeque?" He quickly stepped out of his car.

_The Night Stalker_ had been calling him for about three months at the station. He's ten steps ahead of the department technologically, so they couldn't pinpoint his calls. He was obsessing on Edward, getting bolder and his killing radius was spreading. Calling his unlisted cell phone unnerved Edward more than he would ever indicate in his voice or manner. Now it was confirmed that this sick twist was following him.

"You should have come in. We had plenty of food. I would've been glad to finally meet you. It feels like we're old friends."

"You're such a bullshitter, Cullen. I can see on your face you're pissed I know where your family lives."

"Where my family lives is public knowledge, Stalkie. You seem to need a constant barrage of ego boosting. Isn't a nightly spot on the news and a Twitter trend enough for you?"

He eased his gun out of his holster and released the safety while discreetly scanning the area for anything out of place. His mouth went dry and he started choking on all the air he was swallowing.

"Now, why do cops always resort to violence? Don't you fuckers have to take college classes now? I would think you would be more civilized."

His hands became unnaturally still and he felt his temperature drop. This nut had seen Alice for sure and she was just his type. He decided to call his father immediately and tell him what's going on after this call ended. He tried to keep his family safe from this nightmare.

"Well, maybe you can give me some lessons on being civilized, Nightie. Forgive me. You know so much about me. I don't even know your name. I've had to get creative and use names like, 'that shithead,' or 'that fucker that's killing people.'"

"People? I'm not killing people. That's your first mistake."

"Ah, my bad. They looked like people to me. The people that were crying after I had to tell them their inhuman loved ones weren't breathing anymore fooled me."

"Yeah, well that's what happens when you put a jungle bunny in charge of things. You people are easily fooled; first the President, now this. This whole country is in the shitter."

"Tell me about it. Every time I roll over the dead body of a beautiful young brunette woman with her whole life in front of her I want to ring somebody's neck. Care to come out of the shadows coward?" He wished he still believed in God because he would be praying to It that the tech team had finally tracked this idiot.

"Bye, Cullen. You'll find me when I want you to. Don't worry about the dark-haired pixie, yet. I have someone else on my radar." He ended the call before Edward could respond and he squeezed his phone so hard he felt the sides of it start to strain under the pressure.

"MOTHERFUCKER! " He yelled into the night air. He quickly got back into his car. He frantically reached for his glove compartment and popped a Paxil so his hands would stop shaking. Once the calming effect of the pill started to take over he composed himself enough to do what he needed to protect his family.

****DBW****

"Pop"

"Yeah son, what's up?"

"Where's Alice?"

"She's still here vibrating all over the place. What's wrong?"

"Keep her there. That nutcase either followed me or Jasper to Naperville. He saw Alice."

"Alright, kid. Will you handle that soon, or is there anything else I can help you with?"

He was confused momentarily but realized Alice must be standing close enough to hear his father's conversation.

"I'm sorry. It's not like me to be so careless. I should've known he would follow me here. I'll talk to Naperville PD and see if they'll send a couple of cars around as a courtesy."

He could hear a door close in the background and the squeak of his father's office chair.

"Edward, I'm in my office now. Don't beat yourself up. He could've Googled the address. With the technology out there these days, he could've been anywhere. He didn't have to follow you to know where we live. I have the alarms set. The security cameras are on. We'll be extra cautious. "

"He could tell me what my face looked like and that I unholstered my gun. I felt him. He's here. He said he's not after Alice right now, but you know what they say, 'Never take a serial killer's word for it.'"

"They do say that. Are you okay?"

"Yeah…I just…he was so close. He probably still is. That's how he gets his kicks, by being close by and eluding capture. I'll call you later. I have to see if they can trace that call. I'm in Naperville's parking lot right now. Make Alice spend the night. I'll take her home in the morning. You still have that Glock handy?"

"Locked and loaded."

"Don't be afraid to use it, pop"

"I'm one step ahead of you. Keep me in the loop and be careful."

"Don't worry about me. I'll call you in the morning when I'm on my way. I'll talk to you soon."

****DBW****

"This is Detective Cullen, badge number 0-0-1-9-1-8."

"Hey, gorgeous. What you up to?"

"Keisha, I need the last call made to my cell traced. The number is 312-555-8787."

"I'll call you back in five, hon."

"Ok and Keisha…."

"Yeah."

"Hi. How're you doing?"

She laughed, "I'm good. I know when you're not playing around."

"Alright. You don't have to call me back. I'll get back to you in a few."

Edward was so glad his paranoia had finally paid off. When he first discovered the pattern killings of the media-monikered Night Stalker, he knew that being the lead on the investigations would cause media scrutiny. He also knew that his last name brought even more media attention to the situation. The Cullen name was famous for medicine and sports. He knew he would be making it famous for law enforcement. He immediately wired his father's house up like Fort Knox with security and weapons. Only he and Carlisle knew about the weapons stash. He didn't want Esme to have a meltdown and Emmett had his own little family's security to worry over. Edward's family was precious cargo to him. He wasn't losing anyone else. He didn't worry much about the Masens. He wasn't associated with that name in the media's eyes and the men and some of the women on his father's side had been in law enforcement in the Chicago area since it was legally allowed for a black man to don the uniform. The Masens were covered.

****DBW****

As he walked up to the Desk Sergeant at the Naperville precinct to ask for his cousin, Benjamin, the woman looked up and her eyes bugged out of her head. He looked behind himself and put his hands on his weapon in case something was going down. He didn't see anyone and he turned around with a questioning look. She had a bashful look on her face and a slight pink tinge to her cheeks. He realized that she was looking at him and not behind him. He knew he was considered attractive. It wasn't an ego thing; he had just always gotten attention for his looks, negative and positive. He had used it to his advantage in the female department at times. This was not one of those times. However, he didn't see any harm in putting on the charm.

"Is Detective Benjamin Nelson here?" He said in the most dulcet tone he could muster.

"Huh?" She was standing there blinking at him, which would have been funny if he wasn't so on edge already.

"Detective Nelson, is he on duty, Sergeant Fuller?" He repeated in a slightly more agitated tone as he read the name off of her badge and name tag.

"Oh. Yes. I'll call him." She snapped out of her daze momentarily.

"That's ok. I'm Detective Cullen Chicago PD." He flashed his I.D. and his smile. "He's my cousin. I want to surprise him." He noticed that she had stopped breathing. He had just updated his CPR certification, but he for sure didn't want to use that knowledge right now. It's not that she was unattractive, but he had things to do tonight.

"Are you ok?" He asked as she released her breath and smiled demurely.

"Y-Yes. Just go on back. I'm sure it's ok." He smiled to himself about the informality of suburban police stations. He hadn't seen one yet that didn't remind him of the Andy Griffith show.

Benjamin was his cousin on the Masen side. His Aunt Carmen and Esme would make sure they spent as much time as possible together growing up. Benjamin was engrossed in some paperwork at his desk and wasn't paying close attention to his surroundings.

"Get your hand out of my pocket!" Edward poked a finger in his cousin's side as he repeated the line from the movie _Malcom X_. They had always taken turns scaring the each other since they were kids.

"Mothafu…man. Don't do that shit! I'm gonna really hurt you one day." Edward laughed at him and hugged him.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't resist, Ben"

"What's going on in the Chi, cuz? That _Night Stalker_ shit is scaring the hell out of everybody. Women are running around at night wearing blond wigs. It's the 'Son of Sam' all over again."

"Well, this guy ain't Berkowitz. He's creepy calm and he's not getting messages from dogs. He sounds patriotic. I'm 99.9% sure he's a vet. Of course that doesn't narrow down anything. He's been very careful not to say much and he's calling me on the regular like he's in love with me and shit."

"Well, good thing you're not a brunette. Did the F.B.I. run a profile?"

"Yeah. The F.B.I. guy I'm working with knew my dad…Edward Sr., not Carlisle. His name is Alistair Martin."

"How do you feel about that?"

"Who are you, Dr. Phil? I feel fine, weirdo. "

"Excuse me for trying to show some sensitivity you little shit."

"Whatever man. Listen I'm pretty sure he followed me to Naperville and he's seen Mae Mae."

"Who?"

"Ben, stop smoking that shit man. I was talking about _The Night Stalker_."

"What? Alice is back? How do you know he's seen her?"

"I just told you he's calling me. I see your listening skills haven't improved."

"You are such an asshole."

"If I had a dollar for every time somebody called me that today, I could almost buy a gallon of gas. I need you guys to run by my pop's house every hour on the hour, at least until tomorrow morning. Can you make that happen?"

"Shit! I'll get a car to sit there all night and get another car do thirty minute drive-bys. These lazy bastards don't have shit else to do in Naperville. He better not fuck with my Ali and Aunt Esme."

"Yeah, that's what I said. The next time he calls I'm giving you the phone."

"How's that fine ass Tanya? I'm missing football season like a mothafucka."

"I'm surprised you can't tell me. She was screwing everything west of I-94. I'm glad I didn't ever let her talk me into not covering my shit. We broke up a year ago man."

"No shit. Well, I guess it was fun while it lasted."

"Yeah fun, like a root canal. But, when you come to the next barbeque, you can see her live and in person."

"What? She's still coming by the crib?"

"Yeah. She claimed Rose was inviting her all this time. Rose doesn't even like Tanya and called her a stalker. I'm starting to agree. I told her today not to come by again, in a not so nice way. We'll see if the message got through soon."

"When you and Rose agree on some shit, it must be bad. Hey, when are you coming by to see your aunt. She's pissed at you."

"Tell Aunt Carmen I love her and by the end of the week."

"Tell her yourself when you call and you can call me more often, too, you bastard. I am your only 1st cousin."

"Seriously, I'll do better. This case has me all twisted."

Benjamin put his arms around Edward's shoulders, "I love you, little cuz. I joke around with you, but I'm scared for you dawg, especially since I know he's obsessing over you and he's seen Ali. Just make sure you're careful out there."

"I know. I'll be careful and you're alright, too. I don't know if I love you and shit." Benjamin gave Edward the finger, so he gave him a loud smack of a kiss on his cheek. Ben would hear about that from his fellow officers for a while.

He heard Ben trying to calm the whistling and cat calls down as he walked out, "Knock that shit off! Don't you have work to do? That was my cousin you sick fuckers."

****DBW****

"Keisha, you know what I want, baby."

"Yeah, but I only have the number you asked for."

"Oh, I love you, girl. Did you email it to me?"

"I did you one better…I called it. Out of service."

"Shit! I think when we do find him I'm gonna hire this mothafucka for real. Our tech team sucks ass!"

"I do have good news."

"What?"

"We know where he bought it and they have surveillance."

"What's the address?"

"Williams' Electronics on 87th and Racine." His heart felt like it stopped beating for a second as he noted that this creep's arrogance was growing and he seemed to be daring him to find him.

"That's where I'm going now. Thanks, Keisha. You're the best."

"Yeah, that's what he said." He would've laughed at Keisha if he weren't so preoccupied.

****DBW***

"Whitlock."

"Man, you know that asshole called me on my cell and I'm pretty sure he was in Naperville?"

"Which asshole. You gotta narrow that down, son. Where are you?"

"Who do you think? I had to stop by and get Naperville PD to watch the house."

"Oh shit! Do you think he saw Alice?"

"Yes, he did and don't think I didn't notice you hitting on my sister."

"Well, they didn't make you a detective for nothing. I'm sorry man, but she is a pretty little thing."

"You call my sister a thing again and I'll whoop your ass."

"So young to be so full of rage."

"Did you notice anybody following you on the way to Naperville?"

"No. But, I was paying more attention to my GPS than anything else. Sorry man."

"It's alright. I'll be there in a few."

"I'll be here."

****DBW****

"What do we have here?" Edward asked as he approached Jasper. The crime scene activity was winding down.

"Nice of you to join us, Cullen. I have a white female, around 23 years of age, and brunette, of course. M.E.'s still working on time and cause of death. But, my guess is the extra hole in her head is what killed her. Officer McDaniels released the crime scene to us. She said she'll copy us on the report."

"What's her name?" The killer always left the victim's I.D. on the body. He took other souvenirs.

"Her name is Amanda Rosetti." Edward kneeled careful not to disturb the scene and looked into the victim's eyes. He muttered to himself, _'Hi, Amanda. Sorry we have to meet under these circumstances. Tell me what happened to you.' _He started to examine the body and methodically look over the crime scene.

Jasper pointed to her neck where there were two perfectly equidistant and perfectly round red dots right below her ear.,

"What the fuck _is_ that? That same mark has been on every girl's neck we've come across."

"It looks like a bite."

"The only thing in nature that makes a bite like this is a snake that I can think of."

"Or a bat. Are there bats in Chicago?

"Yessir. But a bat or a snake would penetrate the skin if it was frightened enough to actually bite."

"What about fake teeth? What about fake fangs…like vampire teeth?"

"We thought about that, believe it or not, but we have no idea how to track fake vampire teeth just from bite marks. Each of these girls' marks is a different width apart and some are oval instead of perfectly round. Did you know there were 100s of different kinds of fake vampire teeth from the low-end cheapies to high-end platinum teeth that can cost about 10 Gs"

"American dollars?"

"Yep. I ain't talkin' Euros, buddy."

"Did you cross-check these girls' names with one of those vampire clubs that are so popular these days?"

"Yep. Nada. None of the family or friends of these girls mentioned that they were dating a guy or girl that pretended to be a vampire or that any of them thought they were vampires, were a part of a vampire club, or frequented vampire clubs."

"The Captain thought it would be a great idea to leak that theory to the press, though. Now we have _The Night Stalker_. We gave that fucker exactly what he wanted. That's when his punk ass started calling me."

"You think it might be an injection site? Were there any drugs in the system?"

"Nope. There's a toxicology report for each victim in their files. I guess you didn't have a chance to go through them yet."

"Nah, I was too busy buying contraband cigars for my new father-in-law."

"You gotta get through me first. I don't know Karate, but I know crazy.

"Ok James Brown, don't get your panties in a twist. How did you know?"

"How did I know what?"

"How did you know it was really him that was calling you and not somebody playing on the phone?"

"Oh, trust me. We had prank calls up the ass. But, the real _Night Stalker_ knew things only he would know."

"Like what?"

"The positioning." He wasn't ready to tell him about the souvenirs yet.

"Come again?"

"All these girls are in the same position when we find them, if the first cops on the scene don't fuck it up."

The woman on the ground was lying on her stomach with her head turned to the left like she was watching traffic. Her hands were behind her back like they had been tied and her legs were spread. The panties that were around her ankles were with forensics now, but there was no sign of rape or molestation.

"Do you think he's trying to say they are voyeurs, or he likes to watch sexually?"

"Could be. Or, maybe his brown-haired mother used to let him play in traffic while she was on the shitter with the door open. Who knows what this sick twist is thinking?"

"You want to go get some coffee, man?"

"Nah, I want to go back to the station and get some paperwork done. There's free coffee at the station. You coming?"

"Yep. I think it's about time I went through those files. By the way, I was looking to see if I saw anybody watching the scene after you called. I didn't see anybody."

"Well, we're running out of time because he said he has somebody new on his radar… radar. You think he's Navy, Whitlock?"

"Possibly. That's also cop speak, Cullen."

I stopped dead in my tracks.

"You think he could be a cop?"

"Anything is possible."

"Well, right now, that fact is a big problem. Maybe he slipped up and left some DNA or prints. He is getting more confident. Sometimes that can lead to stupid mistakes. Let's go find out what forensics says."

Jasper walked towards his truck. Edward looked into Amanda's eyes again and muttered, '_I'm sorry I'm not better at my job.' _He stroked her cheek lightly and walked towards his Volvo to head to the station.

****DBW****

_**A/N: I promise I won't make long author notes often. I just wanted to say thanks to those that rec'd, read, and reviewed the first chapter. It was so nice to get that feedback. In particular, karebear8706, or Thaigherlillie, has pimped out my story on Twitter and caused a lot more traffic to come this way than probably would have without it. She pushed me to write and post my story and she has a special place in my heart for that. **_

_**Etch-a-Sketch – Is a toy from my childhood. I think they still sell them. It's a flat writing tablet that lets you write or draw a picture with these two knobs on the front and you can erase the images by shaking it clean.**_

_**This is all made up. I don't know anything about Naperville police and how they operate. I'm sure they're very professional. **_

_**I personally love Ford F-150s and would not use the word 'hillbilly,' but Edward has a completely different sense of humor that I do. **_

_**Esme is not technically Ben's aunt, but he calls her Aunt Esme because he's close to her. Yes this is canon Ben and this won't be the last we see of him. **_

_**That's all! Hope you keep reading. Reviews are lovely!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**_This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this._**

**_All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended._**

**_Firstly, I want to apologize for the long delay. I know now not to give myself a deadline. It causes writer's block for me along with RL getting in the way. I'm giving you three chapters today and I'm working on the next one. So, I hope that helps you forgive me. ;-)  
_**

**_****DBW****  
_**

Chapter 3 – Bella's New Gig

August 2 2010

Bella kept going over in her head the brief and odd interview she had with Shirley Masen the day before at her eponymous diner, in Hyde Park. She walked into the interview with the usual costume, which is the standard black pencil skirt, black pumps, a white silk shirt and a matching black suit jacket. Her hair was in a neat French twist and she carried a red leather Coach briefcase for a dash of color and the garnet stud earrings her Grandma Swan left her when she passed. It wasn't her birthstone, but she loved them anyway. They always brought her good fortune. She wore them at Amanda's adoption hearing, which went very smoothly, and she had hoped they would do a repeat performance. She sat in Shirley's cubby hole of an office that she could tell was rarely used and handed the no-nonsense woman a resume. She gave it a cursory glance, with her reading glasses perched on the edge of her nose, and put it to the side. The elderly woman sat back in her chair and sucked her teeth for a second while taking a deliberate and slow inventory of the nervous interviewee who was fiercely biting her bottom lip. She stared right into Bella's eyes like she was looking for something. Bella learned from her father that when people are trying to read your character, the worst thing you can do is look away first. So, she held steady under the woman's intense scrutiny. The first question she _asked was,_

"_Are you afraid to get your pretty clothes and nails dirty?"_

_Bella stammered a little and said, "N-N-No, ma'am. I just wanted to be professional for this interview. I am not a stranger to dirty or hard work."_

_Shirley finally looked away from Bella briefly before she stood up and motioned with her finger for Bella to follow her. _

"_I see you've never been a manager before." _

_Bella's eyes widened a little because she was sure the woman hadn't had enough time to really look at her resume._

"_No ma'am, I haven't. I was an unofficial assistant manager at my last position where I was the pastry chef. But, I've never been a manager."_

_Shirley stopped dead in her tracks and Bella had to stop herself before she ran right into the diminutive woman. She felt graceful and in control in the kitchen. However, walking in a straight line in any other situation without falling had been a problem her entire life. When she wasn't in the library reading a book, she was in the hospital recovering from some self-inflicted laceration or broken bone reading a book._

"_Where are you from, Isabella?"_

"_I'm from a town called Forks, Washington. It's so small that most people haven't heard of it. I just tell most people I grew up outside of Seattle so they get the general idea. Please, Mrs. Masen, everyone just calls me Bella. Even if you don't hire me, I'll probably be by here quite often to get your delicious smelling cookies. My dau…little sister, Amanda, loves oatmeal raisin cookies. You don't have to be so formal with me, ma'am." Bella winced internally at her word vomit._

_Shirley chuckled and smiled a disarmingly beautiful, white, pearly and lop-sided smile at Bella and said, "I'll tell you what, if you stop calling me ma'am, I'll call you Bella. How old is your sister?"_

"_She'll be six in a little under two weeks. She goes to Naperville Christian Academy." Bella couldn't help but feel pride that her little sister tested high enough on her entrance exams to get into the school and they were willing to let her travel from Chicago to the suburb to attend. She was worried about sending her little sister to such a high pressure school, but she wanted to give her all the advantages in life she could._

"_Naperville? I have family in Naperville. It's a beautiful place. I actually have a grandson named Benjamin that's a police officer there. Where is your mother, Bella?"_

_Bella looked down and swallowed hard. She wasn't expecting the question and it hit her hard emotionally, for some reason, to have to explain to the very motherly woman that she and her sister were essentially orphaned. _

"_My mother passed the day my sister was born from brain cancer…a neuroblastoma. It was inoperable."_

_Shirley frowned and put her slightly wrinkled and neatly manicured hand on Bella's shoulder, "I'm sorry for your loss, sweetheart. How did your father take everything?"_

_Normally, Bella would quickly evade such intrusions into her personal life. But, something about Shirley made her want to talk._

"_Oh, thank you for your condolences. It's been a while now. We don't have the same father. My mother remarried after my father...died. Amanda's father didn't feel ready for her. He has a difficult job."_

_Shirley scowled and then blew air down her nose at that answer, "Difficult job? What's more difficult than being a parent? You're just a baby yourself. How was it any less difficult for you?"_

_Bella smiled at being considered a baby by this woman who was so endearing and feisty. "Well Mrs. Masen, that's a long story and after I tell it, I still don't think you'll really understand all the decisions that were made. It's complicated. Anyway, I adopted her and she's my responsibility now." _

"_Is he able-bodied?" The woman asked with a scowl on her face._

"_Yes, he's able-bodied." She still felt a little bit of empathy for her step-father and didn't feel comfortable making him out to be the bad guy._

"_Well Bella, anybody who's a good enough person to take responsibility for her baby sister when she has a perfectly capable father available to do his job as a parent is good enough to bake cookies and manage my little staff. So, as far as I'm concerned, and that's all that matters around here, you're hired."_

_Bella jumped up a little and reached up and twisted one of her grandmother's garnet earrings. _

"_Really, Mrs. Masen? You don't want to talk to or see any of my references."_

"_Nope. I'm a good judge of character, Bella and please call me Shirley. Everybody I like does." Shirley winked at her and showed her around the small bakery with an attached diner. The diner was open 24 hours, but she already had two assistant managers on staff that helped run the place. Her current manager was leaving to take a job for more money and she was very happy to see her sprout wings and fly away to bigger things. However, Bella would very rarely have to be there at night or full weekends. Shirley had a very devoted and reliable staff with very little turnover, which was practically unheard of in the restaurant business._

"_You'll get to meet the rest of the staff tomorrow. That's when you'll be starting. Do you have a problem with getting here at 5am every day that you work?" Shirley looked at her to wait for an answer, but Bella knew what answer she expected._

"_No, Shirley. I'll have no problem starting at 5am. But, can I ask one question?"_

"_Yes, please do."_

"_Why don't you promote one of your assistant managers to this position? It sounds like you have very good employees." Bella shifted slightly on her feet wondering if she had just made a huge mistake that could cost her the job by asking._

"_Well, the assistant managers I have, Mike Newton and Eric Yorkie, are both finishing up law school. They'll be leaving me soon. I wouldn't want to have to find somebody else again so quickly. You are sticking around for a while aren't you?" Shirley stood and patiently waited for an answer._

"_Yes. I love it here and Amanda is all settled in. I'm not going anywhere." They smiled at each other simultaneously._

_Shirley nodded, "Good. I'm closing up everything today to go to my granddaughter's birthday party. Everybody has the day off. Here are the keys so you can let yourself in tomorrow morning. I won't be in until 7am. I'll have you watch Charlotte open in the morning; she's the lady you'll be replacing. That way you'll know what's expected. She won't be in until 5:30. What size shirt do you wear?_

"_I wear a small, but I like my clothes roomy. So, I'll take a large." She smiled to herself when she realized Shirley came in just to interview her. She was very appreciative._

_Shirley scrutinized Bella from head to toe and smiled that luminescent smile again. _

"_I'll get you a medium and a large. You see which one you like better when you come in. I can't have you swimming in a large and your sleeves getting in the food. You're just skin and bones. I'll have to feed you and that little girl of yours. Wear black jeans or any type of black slacks. Just make sure they're clean, neat and comfortable. I provide the aprons. They stay here. I have them laundered daily. They're white and I don't allow people who work for me to walk around with dingy aprons. When you soil an apron, you take it off and grab another one, especially if you're interacting with one of my customers. I suggest you buy the type of shoes that nurses wear because you'll be constantly on your feet. You will wear your hair tied back and under a hair net with no exceptions. We're not trying to make a fashion statement here. We're trying to make sure our customers are happy and healthy when they leave here. I haven't had one health code violation or complaint of food poisoning since I opened 50 years ago and I plan on maintaining that record. Managers don't dress any differently than the rest of the crew. The only way you'll be identified as a manager is by your name tag and by your demeanor and leadership, ideally. Do you have any questions?"_

"_No. You've made yourself very clear." Bella really enjoyed the fact that Shirley was so direct. She really didn't have any questions that she was sure she couldn't get answered the next day. That was rare for her because she was a classic over-analyzer. She noticed they didn't discuss salary, but that wasn't a major concern for her and she knew she would find out soon enough. What Shirley didn't know was that Bella was so excited about getting this opportunity she would gladly work for free._

"_Good. So, I'll see you tomorrow, Bella. Welcome to our little family."_

"_Thank you and I promise I won't let you down."_

_Shirley smiled and nodded. She tapped her temple and said, "I know. By the way, I know we haven't discussed your pay and benefits. We'll get to that tomorrow, if you don't mind. We can get all your new hire paperwork taken care of then, too."_

_Bella smiled and wondered if little Shirley was a mind-reader. "No problem. We can talk tomorrow." _

Shirley walked through which keys opened what with Bella and they shook hands. She walked away feeling like her life was about to change in a big way.

****DBW****

As Bella put on her black jeans and white nurse's shoes she purchased after she left her interview, she smiled widely thinking she was getting closer and closer to her goal of starting her own shop. She even wondered if Shirley would be willing to sell to her one day. It was 4:15a.m. and she put on a white t-shirt and a black hoodie with white stripes down the sides to complete her work outfit. She walked quietly over to Amanda's room to check on her before she left to wake up Angela to come up and stay with her until she left for school, as was their arrangement. Her sister would always end up in the oddest positions while she was sleeping. Today all the covers were kicked towards the end of her bed and she was turned on her stomach with her little bottom sticking in the air and her arms at her side, like she was trying to run away from something in her dreams and fell face first into the pillow. Bella stifled a giggle as she readjusted her and put the covers back over her. There was a little nip in the air in the mornings now and she didn't want her catching a cold. She gently wiped her long thick chestnut brown hair out of her face and kissed her forehead before she left and gently closed her bedroom door. There was really no necessity to be so quiet. Amanda slept so soundly through any loud noise that she used to wonder if she was deaf, or still breathing when she first took charge of her care. Well, it was confirmed that she wasn't deaf and she was, in fact, still breathing, so she just learned not to worry so much and be thankful for her sleeping through the night.

She grabbed two travel mugs of coffee filled with her own special blend and Angela's favorite hazelnut creamer. She let herself into Angela's apartment and walked straight to the kitchen to whip up some breakfast for two. Angela came dragging herself out of bed with tan yoga pants and a white tank top on. She had a tan hoodie in her hand and her long reddish brown hair was carelessly pulled up into a ponytail on top of her head. She leered at Bella from under her droopy eyelids and mumbled something that may have been hello, but Bella was scared to ask for clarification. Angela Weber was a lot of things, but 'morning person' would not be on that list.

Bella pointed wordlessly to the mug she brought down and Angela shuffled over to drink it. She plated two helpings of cheese eggs, toast and bacon and grabbed the utensils so they could sit at the breakfast bar. As she started to dig in, Angela spoke,

"I don't know how to quit you."

Bella choked a little on her eggs and looked at her friend like she had grown an extra head.

Angela continued like she hadn't said anything out of the ordinary.

"This thing between us; it has to stop. People are starting to ask when we're going to Iowa to make our love official. _**Iowa**_!"

"Have you been watching _Brokeback Mountain _again?" Bella chuckled a little, but Angela's expression didn't change.

"You and me are the definition of pitiful. We're in our twenties. When was the last time either one of us went out on a date or had a boyfriend? I'm seriously starting to forget what my vajayjay is for."

"Seriously Ang, vajayjay? You need to change your work schedule so you can miss Oprah once in a while. You are losing your mind. I don't have time to date. I have the kid and a new job that I'm very happy about, by the way."

"I already told you congratulations on the gig, subject-changer, and do not use Oprah's name in vain. It's always something with you, Bells. You know people manage to have careers, kids, and a social life. It's called balance. We both need it. We really should consider hiring a nanny for Amanda or, at least, a reliable babysitter for the weekends."

Bella looked at her friend and felt a strong pang of guilt. She didn't realize she was leaning on Angela so much she felt it was her job to take care of her sister. She reached out and touched her hand.

"Ang, you know I love you. You took on the responsibility for Amanda like she was your own. You didn't have to do that, especially to the detriment of a life. You're right. You need balance. I'll hire somebody to help me out in the mornings and after work. You go out and have some fun, girl."

"No!" Bella jumped at the ferocity of Angela's response. "You are not using Amanda as a scapegoat to get out of having a life for yourself. Amanda will be happy if you're happy and I hate to break it to you, kid; you're not happy! We are _**both**_ going to get out of this brownstone and live a life!"

Bella got up and put her dish in the sink and pushed her half-eaten food down the disposal. She knew her friend was right. She had been using her little sister as an excuse to avoid socializing. She looked at her watch relieved that it was time to go and she could avoid this conversation.

"Ang, I have to go, or I'll be late. I laid out Amanda's clothes, but she'll want to be a big girl and pick out her own outfit. So, don't let her go too far outside of what I laid out for her. I don't want her to be conspicuous." She took a deep breath and looked to see if Angela had forgotten what they were talking about. _Damn_. No such luck. The scowl on her face indicated that she hadn't.

"Ang, I hear what you're saying. We'll talk more when I get home. You're off tonight right?"

Angela gave her the skeptically raised eyebrow. She knew Bella had no intention of talking about this anymore. She would have to corner her and force her into a dress and heels so they could go out before someone ends up making a movie about them called _Grey Gardens: The Sequel._

As she was walking towards the door, Bella threw in the next comments hoping they would give her friend pause, "Besides, the _Night Stalker _is still on the loose and I'm just his type. I wouldn't want to tempt fate by gallivanting around at night being a petite brunette and all."

"Don't even try it, Bella Marie. I'll put you in a in a blond wig. You're leaving this building if I have to drag you by your brunette hair! Who even says gallivanting anymore?" She then let out a string of profanities during her mumbling rant in Spanish as was her tendency when she was frustrated or angry.

Bella quickly left the apartment and locked Angela's door. Her best friend using her middle name was not a good thing. At least she didn't call her Isabella Marie. That was usually the precursor to a very long, heated and one-sided 'discussion.' She knew Angela was leaving right back out of the door to go upstairs with Amanda, but locking the door gave her a few extra seconds to get away from her. She walked quickly out the main door and down the steps of the brownstone. It was still dark outside at 4:45am and the air had a cool breeze to it that reminded her that fall was on its way soon. The ten minute walk would clear her mind and get her focused on the day. She was excited to have more responsibility. At her last job, her one complaint was that she got things done so quickly she had to make work for herself to do. She had a feeling there would always be work to do at _Shirley's Kitchen_.

****DBW****

Bella got to the restaurant at 4:55a.m. She pulled out the keys trying to recall which key was for what door and finally found the correct one. She smiled like she had struck gold and opened the door to be greeted by the scents of baking and food that lingered in the air from previous days. The place reminded her so much of the diner she would eat in and work at during the summers in Forks that she felt nostalgic. It already felt like home to her. The woman she was replacing, Charlotte, wasn't due for another thirty minutes. So, she had time to try on the shirts to see which one fit better and take a second look at the kitchens for the pastry shop and the diner to familiarize herself with the appliances. There was a note attached to the shirts that said,

'_Once again, welcome and make yourself at home. _

_Sincerely, _

_Shirley.' _

Bella smiled, locked the door behind her for safety's sake and went to the coffee machine to start a pot. One more cup would make her feel like a real person.

A knock on the door startled her. She moved the shade aside on the door and looked out at a man in a delivery uniform and a cap pushed down over his eyes. She didn't see his truck and assumed he had parked it at the delivery door in back. However, she hadn't heard a truck pull up and Shirley didn't tell her about any deliveries that were coming before Charlotte arrived. There was something odd about this whole situation and she didn't feel that she should do anything she wasn't told to do so, she made a decision at that point and yelled through the door,

"Sorry. We're not open for deliveries, yet. You'll have to come back in about thirty minutes, if you can. Sorry for the inconvenience." She waited for him to look up and acknowledge that he heard her.

He didn't quite look up all the way, but she caught a glimpse of his eyes. For some reason, her heartbeat picked up to double time and she stepped away slightly from the door. He smirked a little at her and said,

"I'm sorry, miss. I can't hear you very clearly through the door and I'm on a tight schedule. Can you open up so I can just step inside for a moment?"

She could hear _him_ perfectly well. All of her instincts told her to be wary of this man. She felt guilty about that because he hadn't really done anything wrong or suspicious. She took a closer look at him. His badge didn't have a name on it. It just read, 'Delivery,' so she couldn't tell what company he was from. He had a clipboard with a sheet of paper on top of it, but she couldn't tell if it was a bill of lading or an inventory list. He had what looked like a digital scanner in his hand, but she wasn't sure. She felt that it would be better to err on the side of safety rather than worrying about hurting this guy's feelings. She went to the desk in Shirley's office and grabbed a pen and a sheet of printer paper. She scribbled quickly, 'Come back in thirty minutes, please.'

She walked to the door to show him the message through the glass and he was gone. She stopped breathing for a moment and then considered that he may have gone back around to the delivery door. She walked back through the kitchen to the delivery door to look out the small square window and the lot was completely barren. She considered the fact that she never heard him pull up and didn't hear him pull away. Bella scurried back to the front to see if she could see him sitting in his truck before he pulled away from the curb. She didn't see a delivery truck anywhere.

She placed her hand with the note on the bakery counter. She jumped because she heard paper rustling and looked around to see who made the noise. As soon as she realized it was her own hand shaking with the note in it, she laughed at herself for being so skittish. Maybe the man got in his truck and drove to his next delivery and decided to come back later. She would be sure to speak to Charlotte about this when she came in.

She grabbed both shirts that Shirley left for her from off the counter and went into the restroom to take off her t-shirt and try them both on. She did it quickly because she was still rattled over the delivery man's sudden appearance and quick disappearance. She tried on the medium, which felt like a large. Her sleeves weren't too floppy and she felt comfortable, so she didn't even try on the large. She was hoping she could get at least four more shirts so she wouldn't have to wash the one she had on out every day. She looked in the mirror at herself. Her cheeks were flushed pink. She didn't know if it was from excitement, fear, or a combination thereof. She splashed her face with cold water glad that she followed her first instinct and kept her face clean and free of make-up. Bella bundled her long chestnut brown locks into a low ponytail in the back. She twisted her long tresses around in an easy bun and stuck a few bobby pins in her hair to hold it in place. She grabbed her hairnet out of the bag and put it in her shirt pocket that had 'Shirley's Kitchen' scripted across the front of it in bright yellow lettering. She went into the locker area in the employee break room and stored her things. Bella folded the large shirt neatly and put it on the desk in Shirley's office. It was only 5:20 by the time she came back out into the main area of the pastry shop. She decided to calm herself by sitting in one of the booths and having a nice hot cup of coffee before Charlotte came in. She had gotten lost in her thoughts about what Angela said that morning and Amanda's orientation week in Naperville. She felt guilty that she wasn't there to see her off in the mornings. For this week, in the afternoons, she was staying with Angela's mother, Iris, in Bolingbrook. For one week before school officially started, they only had half-days and Iris would bring Amanda back into the city when she knew Angela or Bella were home.

All of a sudden, she heard the front door rattling and saw it burst open. Coffee flew everywhere due to the speed with which she jumped out of her seat. She stepped out of the booth, slid on the coffee, fell flat on her butt and tried to pull herself up by grabbing onto the table. She slipped again in the coffee and bumped her head on the side of the table. She finally stood up and looked in the direction of the door on pure adrenaline.

A woman stood there like a deer caught in headlights. She had a purse and a coffee in her hands and slowly walked over to the counter to set everything down.

"Are you okay, child?" She asked with a Southern drawl.

Bella turned beet red, looked at the woman and said,

"Ow!" She rubbed the top of her head and grimaced a little. She was glad she didn't hit her forehead, or cheek because she could hide her klutziness in her hair. She had so many head injuries growing up people thought she was an abused kid. When a social worker stopped by the emergency room to talk to her father, Charlie, about the injuries that was the only time she saw her father turn beet red with embarrassment. It took them a while to believe she was just clumsy.

The woman's eyes got big like saucers. She bent over and grabbed her stomach and started shaking like she was having a seizure. Bella started to panic and tried to remember what's supposed to be done for someone having a seizure to keep them from swallowing their tongue. Eventually, the woman stood up and let out a laugh so loud it made Bella jump back.

"I am sooo sorry, girl. I didn't mean to scare you." She said between coughing fits of laughter.

Look at me. First I scared you and now I'm laughing at you. Are you okay? Do you need some ice?"

Bella blinked at her while holding her head and said, "You must be Charlotte."

"The one and only. You must be Isabella." Charlotte smiled such a warm smile at her that she started to smile, too. She had smooth mocha brown skin and two deep dimples on one side of her face. It made her look like a little girl, but Shirley had mentioned that she was 34. Her cheshire cat smile had a slight gap in her two front teeth, but only in the top of the teeth. The gap closed at the bottom. She had her hair in a twisted style that was a subtle red and pulled up into a bun. She was about 5'2", but she was probably about 150 pounds. However, she didn't look overweight. She was solidly built with a small waist and very curvy.

"It's Bella. Just Bella." She mused that Shirley must have given Charlotte her full name.

"Girl, let me help you get cleaned up and get this coffee off the floor." Charlotte pronounced floor like 'flo.' There was sing-song quality to her voice that Bella immediately liked. "Good thing we wear black. We'll get you cleaned up and nobody will be the wiser."

"Where are you from, Charlotte?" Bella blurted out and then immediately felt rude. But, she quickly got over it when she remembered being laughed at a few moments before.

"Oh shoot! You hear my accent?" She said with that 100-watt grin. "I thought I was losing it. I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee."

"What brought you to Illinois?" Bella couldn't stop her interrogation. She loved to hear people's stories. She just wasn't good at telling her own.

"Juvenile Probation." Charlotte kept walking like she didn't say anything strange.

"Oh, were you a juvenile probation officer?"

"No, I was in juvie in IL from the time I was 14 until I was 17. I was down there in McLean County detention."

Bella blinked at her again not really knowing what to say. Charlotte was busy putting cleaner in the mop bucket after she wiped up the coffee with some paper towel. She was humming and handed Bella a wet towel to wipe the coffee off her bottom when she realized she was being stared at.

"Oh, I guess I need to explain that a little further, huh."

Bella just nodded her head like a bobble-head doll.

"Oh, Ms. Bella, you don't have to be scared of me. I wouldn't hurt a fly." She chuckled and pulled her into a little shoulder hug.

"I was a handful as a kid. I got into trouble for stealing a car with my knucklehead boyfriend, at the time. I was young and stupid, myself. It was his uncle's car. We had gotten all the way to Bloomington, IL and the po-po pulled us over for a broken taillight.

It was my first serious offense, so I thought they were going to take it easy on me. But, the judge found out about all the petty shit I did in Memphis and locked my little ass up. He saved my life. I send him a Christmas card every year. I learned how to cook in juvie. When I got out, my parents told me they didn't want me back at home. So, my P.O. told me about a program in Chicago that would train me to be a short-order cook and possibly even pay for me to go to school. That's when I met Shirley and the rest is history."

"So, are there other employees here that were…are…in Shirley's program?"

Charlotte chuckled, "A couple kids on the wait staff, but they're good kids. Shirley knows people. That's why I know you're good people." Charlotte winked at Bella and kept humming, mopping, and turning on appliances.

"Oh, girl! I forgot I'm supposed to be training you. I'll go through everything I just did with you. I'm gonna be with you for two weeks. So, you'll know the ropes before I leave.

Besides, I'm married to Shirley's grandson's best friend. He's like family to Shirley. I've been married to him for thirteen years. I'll be by here all the time. Trust me."

"What's your husband's name?" Bella really liked the way Charlotte rambled. She was an open book and so genuine. She was really glad she would see her all of the time.

"My baby's name is Peter. You like to ask questions. That's a good thing. But, I'm gonna have to be careful with you, tho'. You'll know my whole life story and all of my secrets before the day is over. Don't get me to talking about my sweetie. We'll never get this place open." She winked at Bella again and started going over opening the pastry shop and diner.

Bella was taking notes, asking questions and carefully watching Charlotte when it occurred to her why she was so jumpy that morning.

"Charlotte, can I ask you one more question?"

"Yeah, hon. You can ask as many questions as you like." She stopped what she was doing and focused on Bella.

"This morning a man came to the door, right at 5a.m., saying he had a delivery. I didn't see a truck and his shirt just said 'Delivery.' I told him to come back in thirty minutes and he claimed he couldn't hear me through the door. He wanted me to let him in, but Shirley didn't tell me about any early morning deliveries and he made me nervous. I went to write him a note, so he could read it through the door, and he vanished. I didn't see or hear him drive away in a truck or anything."

Charlotte stood there with a look of puzzlement on her face.

"We don't get 5a.m. deliveries, especially not at the pastry shop. The diner is open 24 hours, but they were closed yesterday. They get overnight deliveries and the flour guys come and pump the flour in the floor vats at 3:30a.m. I'll have to ask Shirley about that."

She had a small frown on her face when she said,

"I'm glad you didn't open the door, Bella. There are a lot of nuts out there. You have good instincts. Always trust your gut." She put a reassuring hand on Bella's shoulder.

"We have surveillance. I know somebody that would love to check this guy out, if Shirley doesn't know anything."

"Who?" Bella cringed internally because she couldn't seem to keep her curiosity filter shut.

"Shirley's other grandson, Edward. He's a cop here in the city. He don't play with his grandma's safety. You don't want to cross that man when he's mad. But, most times he's pretty cool, especially when he cares about you. He'll probably be in here today."

Charlotte started to go over some more things with Bella, but she stopped suddenly,

"You single, Bella?"

Bella shifted a little on her feet because she hated talking about herself, "Yeah, I'm single."

"You have any kids or anything?"

"No. I mean, yes. Well, I take care of my sister. She's five." Bella turned beet red at her how incoherent she was.

"Girl, you blushin' like a virgin. Not that there's anything wrong with being a virgin, especially with all these diseases running around. I'm so glad I'm not single. So, what's going on with you? You got a man, woman…both?" Charlotte looked straight at her with no judgment, just pure curiosity.

"No. I'm not. I mean, yes. I date men. I'm straight." She then started to chuckle from recalling her conversation with Angela.

Charlotte gave her the 'are you alright' look with both eyebrows raised.

"I guess I need to explain that, huh?" She mimicked Charlotte's words from earlier and Charlotte bobble-headed just as Bella did before.

"I'm laughing because my best friend helps me take care of my sister and she said that we are pitiful because we haven't dated recently…I mean other people…men. She said people are asking her when we're going to have a civil ceremony and make our love official." She was chuckling, but Charlotte was still giving her an odd look. Bella stopped laughing and reviewed in her head what she may have said that was odd.

"Hmmmm. I see. You're kind of shy. That's alright. Working here will snap you right out of that. You gotta speak up for yourself and keep these guys that work here in line. I think you're going to really enjoy working here. We get a lot of the college crowd from the University of Chicago. A lot of single and very available men stroll through here. Also, both of Shirley's grandson's are GORGEOUS and I'm pretty sure they're single." She waggled her eyebrows up and down, but then bent down and whispered in a surreptitious manner,

"I would never tell either one of them that to their faces. They're like brothers to me and that would be weird." She faked a shudder at the thought. "Besides, nobody's more handsome than my Peter."

Bella smiled at Charlotte and they continued preparing to open. Muffins, breakfast pastries, and cookies were a few of the staple offerings to the breakfast crowd. There was a comfortable silence between them. Bella asked questions, periodically. So far, Charlotte hadn't showed her anything that she didn't do at her previous jobs. Occasionally, her mind would drift to what Charlotte said about Shirley's grandsons and available men form U of C. She would use that as ammunition for her conversation with Angela later. They continued talking about Charlotte's new job at the _Sixteen_ restaurant at Trump International Hotel and Tower downtown and Bella's previous jobs. She lost herself in the soothing and familiar rhythm of work and good company.

****DBW****

The two ladies worked together seamlessly. Charlotte commented on how graceful and in command she was in the kitchen. Bella blushed a little and acknowledged that in the kitchen she's not clumsy at all. Shirley walked in the front door, at 6:50 a.m. and beamed at the two women who were done with the prep work for opening the pastry shop. She enthusiastically greeted them,

"Good morning, ladies!"

"Good morning, Mama Shirley." Charlotte walked over and gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Good morning, Shirley. Would you like some coffee?" Bella didn't feel comfortable greeting her as informally as Charlotte.

"Bella, how's it going so far?" She walked behind the counter and took Bella's offering, black, while inspecting the baked goods and then checked the counter, stools, booths, napkins and condiments to see if everything was ready for her customers. She was pleased at how clean and neat everything looked. She looked at Bella and saw her hair net and nurse's shoes and smiled warmly.

"Everything seems pretty straightforward so far, Shirley."

"Well, I thought it would be. Let's go sit in a booth in the back, get your paperwork filled out and get you an employee handbook. That'll take about 30-45 minutes. Then, I'll introduce you to the kitchen crew and wait staff."

As Shirley was talking, Charlotte was setting up her money drawer for the register and getting her keys out to open the door for business.

"Shirley, I wanted to ask you a favor. I'd like to understand what everyone does around here. I know Charlotte will be here for two weeks, but can I do a little waitressing, cash register, and cook a little so I can get a feel for everything? I'd also like to work a couple of night shifts with the assistant managers." Bella asked nervously because she didn't want to step on Shirley's toes.

"Those are wonderful ideas, Bella. I'm glad you want to do that and I don't have to suggest it to you. I knew I was right to hire you." She beamed at Bella and pointed to the booth where she wanted her to sit.

Shirley proceeded to give Bella all of the necessary tax forms to fill out. But, Bella was completely surprised by the health, dental, and life insurance. She had never seen an employer with one establishment with benefits and an employee handbook. She saw her salary and almost spit out her coffee. Shirley saw the confused look on her face and proceeded to explain,

"I don't just own this restaurant, Bella. I own twenty-six restaurants throughout the Midwest under _Masen, Inc_. But, this is the only one I run directly. This is my first restaurant that I started with my late husband's help. It has a special place in my heart. I have a joint venture with Kraft foods to sell my breads, cookies, preserves, and frozen desert pies. You've probably seen them in your local grocery store. Have you ever heard of _Mama M's Baked Goods_?" Bella nodded her head mutely a little stunned that she was sitting across from the woman whose bread she had eaten all of her life.

I also own two not-for-profit agencies. One is called _Clean Slate_ and the other is called _Fresh Start_. One is for the purpose of giving at-risk youth a job skill and a chance to go to school for business or culinary arts. The other is an organization that helps widows and widowers of police officers in Chicago who don't have job skills get prepared to go back out into the workforce, whether that be through resume preparation, job training, more education, or a combination thereof. So, altogether I have about 400 employees, some union and some non-union. That's why I'm able to offer benefits without going the Starbuck's route and charging people $10 a cup for a coffee." She winked at Bella and told her she would be back in about thirty minutes to show her a new hire DVD.

Bella was simultaneously excited and deflated. She was excited because she was getting a chance to see a person who had successfully run a small business conglomerate in action every day. On the other hand, she was pretty sure the idea of Shirley selling to her one day was not going to happen. She would probably close the place down before she let anyone else run it, or turn it into something else.

After she was shown the new hire video, Shirley explained to her that the pastry shop is normally open from 6:30 a.m. to 9p.m. She would only have to work until 6p.m. because the night shift manager would come in and run things for the rest of the evening. When she arrives at 5a.m., the night manager will still be there. The day shift manager starts at 6a.m. and works until she leaves. She explained that she was a salaried employee that could easily do sixty hours a week. She turned to Bella and simply said,

"Are you sure you want this job?"

Bella only had one question,

"If for whatever reason I have to leave to go to Amanda's school, or be there for her in some other way, is that going to be a problem?"

Shirley smiled and said,

"I was wondering when you were going to ask about that. The schedule I gave you is the one I expect you to follow. But, I have no problem with you adjusting your schedule to fit your lifestyle, as long as you give everyone a heads up, so they can adjust to your needs, and you're putting in at least 8 to 12 hours a day, five days a week. In other words, the hours are very flexible. I would prefer you wait at least three months before you switch your schedule around, unless it's an emergency."

Bella felt like this was too good to be true but, as Charlotte said earlier, _"Her momma didn't raise no fool." _

"Then, I am 100% positive that I want this job, Shirley."

****DBW****

The day had gone relatively smoothly. She met the staff and the morning manager, Mike Newton. He was a good-looking guy, in an All-American, blond boy next door way. He had a mischievous glint to his eyes. She could tell he was a prankster and she would have to keep her eye on him. He was married to the pastry shop cashier Jessica Stanley. She was a bubbly gregarious blond waif with huge brown eyes that danced when she spoke. However, you could tell she had a sharp wit and was very observant. The cook was nick-named Six, but his real name was Tyler Crowley. He was a little over 6 feet tall, with a lean muscular build, caramel brown skin and tattoo sleeves on his arms. There was a tattoo of a woman's lips on his neck like someone had kissed him and he never washed it off. He had a close cropped hair cut with waves and sideburns that led down to a neatly manicured goatee and he had a diamond stud in one ear. He didn't wear a hair net. Instead, he chose to wear a white cook's paper cap. She realized he couldn't have been more than eighteen or nineteen. She looked up at him and he beamed a smile that was so child-like she immediately liked him and felt big sisterly towards him.

He said, "Don't worry, Ms. Bella. I got your back. I'll show you the ropes." She laughed and nodded.

She really liked the crew. They joked around and talked about each other as much as any other kitchen crew, but they worked…hard. They were efficient. They didn't stand around. They were always cleaning and prepping. She was really impressed. She pulled Charlotte to the side.

"Do they always work this hard, or is it because Shirley's here today?"

Charlotte laughed, "Nah. This is the norm. Let me put it to you like this…They would rather find something to do than to have Shirley or me find something for them to do. I'd have them out there re-tarring the driveway, if I could."

Bella laughed, "Oh, I see. I think I'm going to have fun here."

Charlotte looked at her, "Do I detect a little sadistic streak in you, Ms. Bella?"

Bella laughed a devilish laugh and said, "Let's hope they never have to find out."

"Here I thought I was going to have to break you out of your shell. You'll do just fine here." Charlotte laughed and walked up to a customer she knew well and gave him a hug.

Bella loved the pace at the diner. The day was flying by. The breakfast crowd was made up of mostly students and commuters getting their coffee and sugar fix before the day started. The other part of the breakfast crowd were the seniors citizens. They came in and sat in booths by the window and took advantage of the free refills on coffee and the company. She couldn't really blame them. The place really felt like home. The walls were painted a cheerful, yet muted yellow in the front of the shop. One wall was all windows, but there were deep brown ceiling to floor curtains pulled back from every window. The booths that lined the windowed walls, up to a certain point, were all a deep brown leather and the tables were circular dark wood. There were more tables and booths towards the back of the shop. The walls towards the back were painted a deep brown with rust orange colored booths and a working fireplace set in a half wall with seating around it. On the other side of the fireplace wall was a smaller area that was for those who wanted a little more privacy and quiet to study or just relax. It was also where the restrooms were and the farthest away from the diner.

Back towards the front through two open French doors was the diner. It was almost all white, expect for the bright red of the leather booths and the counter stools. It looked like an old fifties diner complete with a small jukebox on each table and a working soda fountain for ice cream floats. Wi-fi was accessible through the entire place. There were college kids who came there in the day with their pajamas on and didn't leave until it was time to go back to bed. On the walls throughout both parts of Shirley's eatery were pictures of local and national celebrities, of babies and grandbabies of customers, graduations, and a few people had even given Shirley their degrees because they felt she helped them achieve their dreams. Bella was really impressed when she saw a picture of, at the time it was taken, Senator Barack Obama and his daughters enjoying ice cream floats in the diner.

She shadowed Charlotte, Shirley, Jessica and Six. Before she knew it, 6 o'clock had rolled around and Eric Yorkie was walking in the door. Bella was standing next to Jessica watching her count her money drawer and run her reports. He was Chinese, with spiky black hair, and about average height, 5 ft, 9 in. He looked like a teenager, but had to be at least twenty-three since he was finishing up law school.

He smiled at Jessica and walked right up to Bella,

"You must be Isabella Swan." He smiled a flirtatious smile at her. Jessica rolled her eyes and Bella chuckled.

"Bella. Just Bella. Are you Eric Yorkie?"

"Why yes I am. I see all the ladies have been talking about me, as usual."

Jessica scoffed, "Yeah right, stud. How's your fiancée, _Lauren_?" She said the last word slowly like he was learning impaired.

He blushed and said, "I'm engaged. Not dead."

Bella reached out her hand and said,

"It's very nice to meet you, Eric. I've only heard good things about you."

He stood like a deer caught in headlights and said,

"I don't think you've met everybody then." Bella laughed hard because he looked so serious and confused by the fact that she hadn't heard any scandal.

"Well, I'm sure I'll hear all the dirt before Charlotte leaves for her new job."

He smiled and said, "That's more like it. The ladies love a bad boy."

Shirley came out of her office and looked at him.

"Eric, you're about as much of a bad boy as I am. Go get punched in and relieve Mike."

He straightened up and started moving right away, "Yes, ma'am."

Bella had to know, "Shirley, you don't have a whip and a cattle-prod back there do you? How do you get people to move so fast when you ask them to?"

"It's the momma voice, Bella. You've got it. You just have to use your powers for good. Plus, you know…I pay them."

****DBW****

Bella went back to the employee locker room and changed back into her jeans white t-shirt and the black Chuck's she was carrying in her bag. She unraveled her hair from the bun and it fell in loose ringlets around her shoulders and down to the middle of her back. She looked at her face and sighed. It was flushed from working around all the heat and steam. She had dark circles under her eyes and her lips were chapped. She giggled at the memory of Eric Yorkie flirting with her in this state and decided to put on a little lip gloss to liven her face up. She walked back out to the pastry shop and leaned into Shirley's office.

"Shirley, I'm going to leave for the day, unless there's something else you'd like me to do."

Shirley wasn't there, but she could hear her laugh. She walked towards the counter and looked around until she caught site of her sitting in a booth with a group of people. There was a huge guy that everybody was staring and pointing at sitting with his arm around a blond, with the most stunning sky blue eyes she had ever seen. Her head was only two inches shy of his, so she was must have been very tall. A bell-like laugh came from a woman who was as petite as the other was statuesque. She had spiky black stylishly coifed hair, a designer mini-dress and she was practically bouncing in her seat. She was a beautiful little ball of energy. Sitting beside her with a shoulder holster on was a very handsome lanky man with wavy blond hair and blue eyes. Where the blond woman's eyes were blue like a clear day's sky, his were like twilight. There were both very striking. She was about to walk over to the booth when she heard the bell over the door ring and a man walk in that stopped her breathing cold.

He had warm cinnamon-brown skin and his hair was reddish-brown. It was long and twisted into locks and it hung around his shoulders. He had a straight nose and a strongly defined jaw line with very high cheekbones. He had hazel-green eyes that sparkled in the fluorescent lights and full pillow-like lips. He was over 6ft and muscular, but agile looking. He was…pretty. She had never used that word to describe a man before, but he truly was. Six came from behind the counter and yelled out,

"E! What's good man?" They slapped hands and gave each other a manly bump and slap on the shoulder.

"I'm good, man. You stayin' out of trouble?" He asked as he sat at one of the stools and waited for the answer.

"Yeah, man. I'm trying to get into college. I ain't messin' around no more."

"Okay. I've got my eye on you. Come by the gym tomorrow. Enrique has a new workout for you." The man smiled a brilliant smile and Bella gasped. She had never seen a more even and white smile. Jessica walked up next to Bella and said,

"Those are the Cullens."

Bella turned around realizing that she was staring at the man like a nutcase.

"Sickening isn't it? They're all perfect. They've been that way ever since I've know them. I went to high school with them. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen adopted them and they all look like they were formed inside of a pod."

"You mean all of the people at that table are adopted?"

"No. The big guy is. That's Emmett Cullen. He's a quarterback for the Chicago Bears. The glamazon sitting next to him is his wife, Rosalie. I don't know who the guy is sitting next to Alice; that's the little one who looks hyped up on sugar. She's a Cullen. She's some kind of big-time event planner or something. Edward, the one you were gawking at…" Bella turned beet red, "Don't be ashamed. We all gawk and I'm a married woman. He's a Chicago cop. I think he's a detective or something. Anyway, Edward is Shirley's biological grandson."

Bella looked at Jessica, "How do you know so much about them?"

It was Jessica's turn to blush, "I had a massive crush on Edward when we were in high school. He was a Senior when I was a Freshman. I kind of…stalked him. Of course, he completely ignored me. But, I got over it when I met my Mikey."

Bella smiled at Jessica. She loved her honesty and her devotion to her husband. She was glad she found someone to love her back. At that point, she felt a sharp sting in her chest and looked up right into the face of the man she had been staring at, while she was rubbing the spot where the pain started.

She was about to speak when she noticed the look on his face. He looked a cross between terrified, enraged, and disgusted. She backed up a few steps not knowing what she did to cause such a reaction. She even looked behind her to see if maybe he was looking at something else. Surely, she couldn't be causing this reaction. Jessica interrupted the awkward moment.

"Hi, Edward. Ummm….Edward this is Bella Swan. She's replacing Charlotte. Bella this is Edward Cullen, Shirley's grandson."

Bella just stared at him blinking and he finally closed his eyes and backed away from her. He turned to Jessica,

"Hey, Jess. Can you get me a cup of coffee black…to go. I'll be sitting with my family."

"Sure, Edward. I'll get that right out."

He mumbled thanks and turned and nodded at Bella without looking at her.

"Okay. What the hell was that all about?" Bella managed to squeak out lowly to Jessica.

"I don't know, Bella. But, if looks could kill, you wouldn't be here for work tomorrow."

"So, you saw that, too?"

"Ummm….yeah! I think Stevie Wonder would've noticed that. I don't know. Sometimes he's a little…strange with new people. He'll come around." Jessica patted her on the shoulder and walked away to get Edward's coffee and wait on another customer.

She remembered she had to ask Shirley if it was okay to leave and if she could order four more shirts to wear. Before she could chicken out and leave a note, Shirley beckoned her over,

"Bella, come over here and meet my family."

Bella went over her options in her brain. She could stick in the ear-buds of her iPod and act like she didn't hear her, or she could put on her big girl panties and walk over there like an adult and meet her boss' family. She looked longingly at the iPod, but she knew what choice she would make. Before she knew it, her feet were carrying her over to the booth.

"Bella, this is my family. The one from Naperville I was telling you about. This is Emmet and his wife, Rosalie. The little bouncy one is the baby, Alice…"

Emmett smiled the most disarmingly adorable and boyish smile with two deep dimples and waved. Rosalie looked her up and down and gave her a polite nod, which she returned, while shrinking into herself. Alice interrupted, "Hi, Bella! Ooooh, your hair is gorgeous. I could do so many things with it when we go out on the town because….oh, I've heard so many good things about you and I have a feeling we're going to be best friends!"

Everybody promptly laughed and rolled their eyes at Alice, but she seemed oblivious. Bella was still a little stunned, but she smiled at her anyway. She couldn't help it. She was really cute and her energy was contagious.

"Anyway…before I was so rudely interrupted…" Alice put her head down and mumbled an apology while Shirley continued. This is the oldest, Edward." He was smiling at Alice and patting her hand, but when his grandmother called his name he looked up and frowned a little and said without looking at Bella,

"We met earlier. This is my partner, Jasper Whitlock."

Bella said the first thing that came to her mind, "Partner as in life partner? Or, partner as in friend or buddy? Someone said you're a cop. I guess you mean partner like work partner." Emmett laughed loudly and slapped Jasper on the shoulder,

"Welcome to the family, Jazz. But, I think you can do a lot better than Edward. He's a little too stuffy and you're a free spirit."

Everybody laughed while Bella turned the shade of a stop sign. Edward was blushing, as well. Jasper gave Edward a concerned look and turned his attention to Bella. She had been nervous, fidgeting, and embarrassed. Her poor bottom lip and been bitten and chewed to the point of rawness, but when she looked at Jasper her whole body calmed down. He smiled at her and she smiled back widely.

"How do you do, Bella? I'm glad to meet you. No. I'm not Edward's life partner. He's not my type. We work together." He said with a charming drawl. Edward leered at Jasper for a moment and shot up out of his seat.

"Okay, everybody, I'm heading out."

Alice pouted, "Awww. I thought you were gonna hang out with me a little longer?"

He said lowly, "I'm sorry, Mae Mae. Something came up. I'll get by your place soon, okay? Whitlock, why don't you take Alice home?"

Jasper perked up and Edward gave him a warning scowl. He put his hands up in surrender and smiled.

"I'll be on my best behavior. You have my word as a gentleman."

"I better because I know where you live." Edward slid out of the booth and gave his grandmother a kiss on the cheek.

Alice scowled, "Edward! I told you to stop treating me like a baby." Edward patted her on the cheek completely ignoring her complaint.

"Edward, before you leave, I need to show you something. Bella if you have a few minutes, I want to show you, too." He looked down and mumbled something under his breath and said, "Yes, ma'am."

Shirley led them out the front door to a door on the side of the building. She unlocked it and slowly walked up the stairs with Edward at her side holding her elbow.

"Boy! I told you to stop hovering over me. I can walk up a flight of stairs." Edward smiled and apologized, but didn't let go. She huffed at him and he chuckled. Bella thought that was the most pleasant sound she had ever heard, but when his attention came to her, he stopped smiling all together. He stood to the side against the wall and said, politely,

"After you, Isabella." She would normally stop a person from using her full name, but for some reason she loved hearing him say it.

She said quietly, "Thank you." Then, she slid past him trying as hard not to accidently touch him as he was trying not to touch her.

"Come on, slow pokes. This will only take a few minutes."

Shirley had taken them to an apartment above the restaurant. It was decorated beautifully with a Caribbean feel to it. It was a stark contrast to the décor of the diner. She had nice things, but they weren't museum quality. You didn't feel afraid to touch anything. It looked lived in. She walked into what she realized was Shirley's real office. It was the size of a master suite. There were floor to ceiling bookshelves, a soft plush-looking leather love seat, file cabinets, an en suite bath, a sleeping area with a king-size bed and a panel with 4 security screens showing different views of the restaurant ensconced in a wall under a wall-mounted flat panel T.V. Shirley's desk was a surprisingly modern glass model with an office chair that was just as plush as the love seat.

"This is a lovely apartment, Shirley."

"Thanks. Esme, Edward's mother, remodeled and decorated it for me a few years back. Sit down, you two. I'm gonna wash up a bit and I'll be back in a few."

Bella went over sat in the love seat and sunk into the softness. She may have moaned a little. Her feet and legs were tired from the day. Edward looked like he was caught in the middle of a serious internal dilemma. He looked at the seat and looked at his grandmother's office chair several times. Bella sucked on her bottom lip to keep from laughing. If he didn't look so adorable, she'd be offended. He finally sat on the love seat as close to the arm as possible.

Bella finally blurted out, "Do I stink or something?" Then she felt like slapping herself in the mouth.

He finally looked up. But, not directly at her, "No. You don't stink. Actually, you smell like…strawberries." He winced a little like he didn't intend to say what he did.

His voice was soft and velvety and she wanted to wrap herself up in it. She was leaning towards him by the time he finished speaking. She had never…in her life...been this intensely attracted to a man before; especially, someone who seemed so repulsed by her.

"You don't like strawberries?" She never understood what was missing in her brain that allowed her to speak even when every fiber of her being wanted her to shut up.

He smiled a genuine smile and looked at her directly, "I _love_ strawberries."

Her stomach flipped when he said the word 'love' with emphasis. She knew she was being a silly girl with a crush, but there was something in the directness of his look that made her wonder if he wasn't exactly repulsed by her. She knew somebody that pretty would never consider someone as plain as her attractive. She was just dreaming.

"Well, I see you two are becoming better acquainted." Shirley smiled an impish grin as she walked into the room. Bella wondered if she left them alone on purpose. She would be mortified if Shirley was trying to play match-maker.

"Grandma, I don't mean to rush you. I need to see whatever it is you want me to see, so I can head out." Edward said in an almost pleading tone.

"Hold your horses, boy. I know you're off today, so don't rush me." She mumbled something about him peeing on her head and telling her it's rain and not being born yesterday. Bella chuckled, but stopped when Edward gave her the evil eye.

She started playing video from earlier that morning.

"EJ, this man came to the door this morning when Bella was there alone. It was 5a.m. exactly. We don't get 5a.m. deliveries. I don't know why he was there, but I want you to look at this view of the top of his hat."

There was an overhead view of the man's hat and there was writing on it. Edward moved in and zoomed in on the man's hat. His breathing picked up drastically when he read it.

'Hi, Cullen,' was written across the top in black marker. Shirley gasped a little. Edward pounded his fist down on the glass desk so hard it was a shock that his hand or it didn't break. His eyes turned from a sparkly green to a deep brown. With his hair down and his eyes wild, he looked like an angry lion that had lost its prey. He took deep breaths trying to calm himself.

"Isabella, you spoke to this man this morning?" He sneered the word _man_ like it hurt him to call him human. He turned and looked at her with such fear and rage in his eyes that she backed further into the couch. She nodded yes.

"What did he say?" She reiterated the story she told Charlotte that morning.

"I'm glad you had good enough instincts not to let him in. Did you get a good look at him? Do you think you can describe him or identify him in a picture?" There was a desperation to his voice that scared Bella more than his look from earlier.

"I could tell you basic things about him, like about how tall he was, his race, his hair and eye color. But, there were no identifying markers that would make him unique. I didn't see any tattoos or scars, or anything like that. He had his cap so far over his eyes, I could barely see them."

He looked at her quizzically.

She blushed and looked down, "My dad was a cop." He nodded and looked back at the screen.

"Grandma, we're going to have take over your apartment for a few hours. I think this is the guy we've been looking for. Are you staying here, or are you going to the house?"

"I'm not staying here while you boys stomp around my apartment. I'm going to Downer's Grove tonight."

He gave her a fierce look, "You are NOT driving yourself to Downer's Grove tonight. I'm sorry if you think I'm being disrespectful, but I'll take you, or I'll have Benjamin come out and take you home."

"Edward Anthony Cullen, I am not a child. You WILL NOT tell me what to do. I will drive home on my own like I have all of my adult life."

Such a storm of emotions played over his face that Bella couldn't narrow them down and his tone turned authoritative.

"Shirley Masen, I have reason to believe your business and person have been targeted and, therefore, your life is in danger from a serial killer. At this point, you are under police custody for your own protection. You will either stay here under police watch, or you will allow me or Benjamin to take you home. Which will it be?" He squared his shoulders ready for a fight with the little woman.

She stood up and tried to stare him down. It was comical watching a barely 5 feet tall woman trying to stare down a man who was over 6 feet. Edward was unflinching. He pulled out his cell phone and called Jasper.

"Whitlock, where are you?"

The answer his partner gave did not make his disposition better.

"Whatever man. At least you're close by. The Night Stalker decided to pay my grandmother's restaurant a visit this morning. Grandma's new employee, Isabella Swan, who could give us a basic description and my grandmother is being uncooperative. She WILL be watched by Chicago P.D., or escorted to Downer's Grove by you or one of her grandson's. Is that something you can handle?"

"Thanks man. Get here as soon as you can. I don't want to have to restrain my grandmother." He gave her a look and she sat down with a huff in her office chair with her arms folded over her chest. "Just come to the side door. I'll let you in. We'll decide how to handle it from there."

He ended the call and made another one.

"Ben, what are you doing right now?" The answer gave him some emotional relief.

"Come into the city man. You're taking grandma back to Downer's Grover whether she likes it or not. The Night Stalker was at the restaurant door this morning claiming to be a delivery guy."

"Nah, man. I'm not being disrespectful. She's being stubborn and I love her too much to let her get hurt by this nut. So, come on out and I'll see you soon." He ended the call and turned to Bella who was making her own call home to tell Angela what happened.

Angela was a little panicked, but when she found out the police were with Bella, she calmed herself.

"Tell Amanda I love her and I'll be home soon…I think." She looked at Edward and he had an unapologetic look of determination and rage on his face that was a little frightening, but to her utter embarrassment she was completely turned on by his caveman behavior.

"Isabella, who did you just contact? Do you have a daughter?"

"No. I have a five year-old baby sister that I have custody of and that was my best friend, Angela Weber. She's watching her, but we live in the same building, so I don't have to rush home."

"How did you get here? Did you drive, take the bus, the El…?" He was in full cop mode and she couldn't keep her eyes off him.

"I'm in walking distance. I walked."

He leaned down over her so close that their foreheads were almost touching. "You live in Hyde Park?" He kept swallowing and she watched his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"Uhm hmm." She could barely speak because of his proximity. He smelled like cinnamon, chocolate, coffee and a spicy clean after shave. It made her head spin. She was trying not to sniff him like a puppy dog.

He knelt down in front of her.

"You can't stay there until we figure out how we're going to protect you and the people close to you. I don't mean to frighten you and this may be worry over nothing, but you fit the profile of this man's victims and I don't believe it was a coincidence that he was here right when you walked in. I'm sending a car over to your place and once we get your description of the delivery man down, there will be a black and white assigned to watch your building until we can figure out other arrangements."

She nodded knowing full well she fit the victim profile. Oddly enough, she wasn't afraid. She felt completely safe knowing that Edward would protect her. The only thing that freaked her out was the term 'other arrangements.' She felt safe in her home and loved being in walking distance of the diner. She didn't want this maniac to take over her life. She was starting to feel as petulant as Shirley looked.

"Well, since I'm being held _prisoner_ in my own apartment. Would you two like something to eat? That seems to be the only part of my life I'm in control of right now." Shirley glared at Edward, but he ignored it.

"No thanks, grandma. What about you, Isabella? Have you eaten today?"

Bella was about to say no, but her stomach growled on cue at the mention of food. She had been so busy that day, she forgot to eat. She was shadowing Six on her lunch break and nibbling on French fries.

"Yes. I guess I am."

Shirley got up and walked towards the kitchen, "Edward Masen we are going to have _words_ later, you hear me?"

Edward looked at her and said, "I'm sure you have plenty to say and I'll listen, grandma. But, that won't change anything. My job is to protect you. I may not be able to stop this idiot, but I am not losing you. So, you're going to have to deal."

She walked swiftly out of the room and slammed the door. Edward jumped up and opened it so he could see her in the kitchen. Bella tried her hardest to stifle a giggle.

He finally looked a little embarrassed and said, "She'll probably try to sneak down to her car while I'm not looking."

"You two are a lot alike." He turned to her and smiled slightly for the first time since he watched the surveillance video.

"So I've been told." They stared at each other for what seemed like hours, but was only a few seconds.

"I'm sorry about all of this. I'm sure you wanted to go home after a long day and relax."

"Yeah, well, I'd rather be cautious than unaware."

He looked at her appreciatively and said, "Your last name is Swan?"

She nodded and looked at him wondering if there was a point to the question. He chuckled a little and said, "Outside of the fact that your last name sounds vaguely familiar, when my grandmother told me your name I thought it had to be an alias."

"Why do you say that?" She was genuinely confused.

"Come on…your name translates to _beautiful swan_. It seems made up. I was gonna run a background check on you, but my grandmother forbade me. She says she can read people. I told her I can read people, too. I can read people's criminal history."

Bella laughed despite herself. She was a little offended that he just insinuated that she was a criminal. But, it wasn't the first time she had been questioned about her name.

"Ha, ha. I've never heard _that_ one before. Technically, aren't all names made up?" There was a silence again, but it wasn't entirely uncomfortable.

He said very quietly, "Your name suits you."

She turned three different shades of red again and jumped up. She cursed the stupid traitorous blood that rushes to her face every time she's uncomfortable in any way. She thought she would outgrow her blushing, but she wasn't that lucky.

"Well, I'm going to go see if I can help Shirley with anything." He nodded sheepishly and turned to the lap top with the surveillance video from the morning downloaded onto it and began to review it.

She couldn't believe what she had just heard. If she wasn't mistaken, he had just called her beautiful. But, he could have meant that she looks like an Isabella. She was thinking of all the possibilities in her mind when she almost walked right into Shirley.

"You okay, hon?" Shirley gave her a concerned look.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just wanted to see if I could help with anything." Shirley had started to make enough food to feed a small army.

"Nope. I have it under control. I figured I'd make a big pot of spaghetti and a big pot of chili since a few people will be here for a while. I used to do this all of the time. My brother was a firefighter, my husband was a police officer, and my son played sports all through high school. I know how to feed an army quickly." She patted Bella on the cheek.

"No. You go and keep my grizzly bear of a grandson company. I think you calm him." She smiled at Bella and shooed her away.

Bella raised her eyebrows at Shirley, "That was calm?"

Shirley laughed outright, "Absolutely. He didn't break anything and he didn't handcuff me to the desk. I'd say you have a magical effect on my grandson."

She looked at the venerable woman and said with incredulity, "He wouldn't _really_ handcuff you would he?"

Shirley stopped what she was doing and looked directly at Bella, "Is fat meat greasy?"

She took that as a yes.


	4. Chapter 4

**_This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this._**

**_All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended._**

**_xxxxxx_**

Chapter 4 – Guarding Bella

****DBW****

Bella stood in the doorway of Shirley's office and what she saw shot a pain through her chest and stomach. He seemed like a lost little boy. He was so different from the domineering man from a few moments before. Edward sat there absorbed in what he saw on the screen. There were maybe four different nervous habits at work at one time. He was twisting his locks with his right hand. He was nervously bouncing his right leg up and down rapidly under the desk. He was tapping his pen on the desk with his left hand and his eyes…they looked so haunted. His left eye was actually twitching.

He didn't even realize she was there. She walked quietly into the room and reached into her jeans pocket to pull out what she needed. She walked behind him while he sat in his grandmother's desk chair and she reached tentatively for the hand that was twirling his hair nervously. As soon as she made contact with his hand, they both jumped. A jolt of electricity passed through her hand that felt like static shock from a person dragging her feet on carpet. But, Shirley didn't have carpet. They were both looking at their hands oddly.

"I didn't mean to startle you. You looked so deep in thought. I just…I thought this might help." She pulled out a black elastic hair band and gestured for him to turn around in the chair. He did as he was told cautiously. She reached out and gingerly raked her fingers through his hair, lightly massaging his scalp so she could gather it into a ponytail. She was intrigued by the difference in the texture of the hair near his scalp and the hair that was twisted. The hair near his scalp was soft and wavy like a baby's hair. The twisted hair was still soft, but it had a more firm texture like a soft yarn. She realized that it was his hair that smelled like chocolate. His scent was intoxicating. She noticed that he had closed his eyes and relaxed his posture. His leg had stopped bouncing and he put the pen he was holding down. She didn't realize she had massaged his scalp for as long as she did. When she became aware of what she had been doing, she blushed again and quickly put his hair in the ponytail.

"My mother used to do that…rub my scalp before I went to sleep…my biological mother." He opened his eyes and she got lost in the fact that they seemed as sparkly and verdant as they did when she first saw him. She noticed specks of gold around the irises.

"I thought this might help you. I know how annoying it can be to have your hair falling in your face while you're trying to work." She said bashfully.

He had leaned back so far in his chair the top of his head was under her chin and the back of his head was resting at the top of her cleavage and under her collar bone. He sat up quickly when he realized where his head was.

"Thanks." He said quietly. "My niece ripped out my hair tie and wanted to play 'horsey with the long mane' all day." He reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled her around to him. "Let me show you something." She was surprised at how perfectly her hand fit in his. His hand was large and his fingers were long and tapered at the end. Her hand looked like a child's in his.

She thought he was about to sit her in his lap, which she wouldn't have minded to her surprise. She had never been much of a tactile person, except with Amanda. However, he eased out of the chair and let her sit down. He pulled up the ottoman from in front of the love seat and sat down next to her, but he never let go of her hand. He was rubbing soothing circles on the back of her hand when he began to speak again.

"What I'm about to show you may frighten you a little. But know that I'm here and I will never let anything happen to you, as long as I'm breathing." The truth she saw behind his declaration scared her more than anything that may be on that video. She didn't want anything to happen to this man-child that could elicit feelings of desire, fear, and adoration within the span of mere minutes; even if it meant saving her.

"I believe the man who has been stalking women with brunette hair is now fixated on you. I don't know if it's your appearance, the fact that you now work for my family, or a combination. But, he has been following you for a while, apparently." His grip tightened slightly on her hand.

He stopped the video at ten before 5a. that day and used his pen to point out a shadow that was not hers in close proximity to her. He pulled up another angle that shows the shop across the street and brought her attention to a reflection of a man in the glass in the store front. He went back to the day before when she interviewed with his grandmother and the same reflection was there in the glass.

"You must not have noticed anyone following you." He looked at her to see her reaction.

"No. I usually try to be aware of my surroundings, but I was so excited about this job and so lost in thought, I guess I was lax." He nodded and squeezed her hand again.

"I'm assuming he knows your daily habits and where you live. Until we catch him, you will not be doing any of those things alone." Bella's sigh was one of relief to her surprise.

"Come and get it." Shirley announced and popped them out of their tiny bubble. Simultaneously, the doorbell buzzed. Edward shot up from the ottoman and pulled out a 9mm Glock from a gun holster tucked into the back of his jeans under his button-down shirt.

"Grandma, turn off the stove and come in here with Isabella, please."

She uncharacteristically did as she was told with no argument.

Once she was inside he ordered,

"Lock the door behind me and DO NOT come out until I say it's okay…not Jasper, not anybody else." They both nodded.

Shirley calmly locked the door and turned to smile at Bella.

"I see it's going to be a long night."

****DBW****

Bella could hear the din of one really loud male voice, one female bell-like voice and one calming male voice. A loud knock sounded at the office door. "Grandma, Isabella…it's me. You can come out now."

Bella opened the door to a completely different Edward than the one who left her a few moments before. He was fuming, his fists were clenched at this sides and his eyes had turned dark brown again.

"Whitlock, I can't believe you allowed Alice to come here with you. Don't you think we have enough to worry about without adding another woman to the mix?"

"Allowed? Cullen, she's a grown woman. What was I supposed to do? She insisted. Frankly, I would rather have her here with us than in that apartment alone." Jasper firmly stood his ground with Edward. Edward finally nodded and relaxed his posture.

"You could be right about that, Whitlock."

Bella wondered briefly who would win in a fight between the two. Edward seemed fast and agile. Although, Jasper was wiry in his physique and very calming in his manner, there was an undercurrent of danger to him. He looked like he could be lethal if need be.

"At least _somebody _considers me to be an adult around here." Alice huffed and went and hugged her grandmother. What was the most surprising to Bella was the tight hug she enveloped her in. Bella responded by patting her lightly on the back and reminding her that she needed to breathe. Alice was surprisingly strong for such a little person. She let go quickly and apologized.

"Are you two okay? I heard about what happened. I can't believe this psycho is getting so bold."

Bella and Shirley both reassured Alice that everything and everybody was okay and Shirley asked everyone to sit down and help themselves to some food.

Jasper exclaimed, "Is that chili? You're a woman after my own heart, Ms. Shirley."

Shirley snickered at him and patted his cheek like she did her grandchildren. Jasper had officially ended the stand-off with Edward by helping himself to a bowl of chili with all of the fixings…shredded cheddar cheese, chopped onions, and oyster crackers.

"I'm glad I'm not riding with you tonight." Edward said as he looked at the onions.

He smiled, "My stomach is trained to handle gaseous foods. Onions can't defeat me."

"Yeah, but I would still have to talk to you."

Jasper blew his breath in Edward's face and Edward backed away in disgust but laughed until the doorbell buzzed again. Everyone became quiet and turned to look at Edward. He pulled out his weapon again and went downstairs to answer the door. However, this time Jasper pulled out his weapon, as well, and indicated for the ladies to go and lock themselves in the office.

They acquiesced and as soon as the door was locked Shirley complained,

"How is being locked in this room going to help? It seems to me like it'll just make us easier targets."

Alice spoke up, "Grandma, your bathroom connects to the guest bedroom on this floor. That room has a window that leads to the fire escape. As you already know, you can only get to it through your bathroom, or the guest bathroom. It is not accessible from the hallway. We could walk down the fire escape and flag down the police before any intruder knew what was happening."

"Climb down the fire escape? I'm seventy-nine years old. Are you trying to kill me?"

She walked over to a sconce on the wall and slid it out to reveal a hidden panel where a firearm was stashed. She pulled out an identical Glock to Edward's and loaded the full clip. Bella and Shirley looked at her with shocked looks.

"What? I helped mom design this place and Edward is paranoid. He said he wanted these panels so he could install some extra speakers for you. But, I know him better than I think he knows himself. He hides guns all over the place." They were still staring at her while she unlocked the safety and pulled a bullet from the clip into the chamber of the gun.

"Uhmmm…I am weapons certified and licensed. I've known how to shoot a gun since I was ten."

Bella smiled at her, "Well, we have something in common. Is there an extra one of those?" Alice eye-balled the other sconce and Bella nodded at her.

"Alright Bonnie Parker and Annie Oakley. Let's just wait for the boys to come back." Shirley said with nervousness that Bella hadn't heard in her voice before.

Alice put her arm around her grandmother's shoulders, "It'll be okay, grandma. We've got you and Bella covered."

A loud rap came against the door, "Hey, ladies. It's Ben, a few officers from CPD, and the FBI. You can come out." Edward said with relief in his voice.

Alice quickly unloaded the bullet from the chamber, put it back in the clip, put the safety back on and placed the Glock back in the wall panel. She turned and squealed at Bella,

"Ben's here? Oh my god! I used to have a major crush on him. He is soo cyuute!"

Bella shook her head in astonishment. This little person went from gun-wielding escape plan tactician to bouncing woman squealing about crushes in a matter of three seconds. She looked at Shirley, who was chuckling and shaking her head,

"Welcome to the Cullen world. It can be a strange place."

Shirley unlocked the door and Ben rushed in and hugged his grandmother fiercely. He picked her up and spun her around.

"Hey, pretty brown-skinned lady. Where have you been all my life?"

She laughed, "Put me down, smooth-talker." Benjamin put down his grandmother and examined her from head to toe to see if she was okay. Once he was satisfied he smiled one of the brightest smiles Bella had ever seen. She swore to herself she was going to get in touch with the Masen's dentist. He had smooth milk-chocolate brown skin that was completely flawless from where she was sitting. He was dressed in basketball shorts, a #23 Jordan throwback jersey and Air Jordan's. Bella jokingly thought she could safely assume he was a Michael Jordon fan. He had on a White Sox baseball cap turned backwards and dog tags hanging around his neck, but slung to the back so they wouldn't hurt his grandmother when he hugged her. He had the largest light brown hound dog eyes she had ever seen. When he took off his cap, after his grandmother's admonishment, she noticed his hair was cut extremely low and he was clean shaven. Shirley had told her that Ben was older than Edward, but his clean shaven look gave him a much younger appearance. He was shorter than Edward, about 5 feet, 10 inches and had a stocky muscular build, like a wrestler. He stood tall with the straightest posture Bella had ever seen. She supposed it was his military background.

Shirley cupped his cheeks in both of her hands and said,

"Where have you been? Why weren't you at Alice's birthday party, Benji?"

He answered timidly, "I didn't even know about it, grandma, until EJ came and talked to me at work. I'm sorry."

He looked up and finally noticed Alice. She was standing in one place, but she was bouncing waiting to speak to him. He smiled that beaming smile again.

"There's my Ali!" She ran and jumped into his arms.

"I'm so sorry I missed your birthday party, sweetie pie. I hear you were running things in The Big Apple. But, I'm glad you're home. Where's my sugar?" She gave him a loud peck of a kiss on the lips and he smacked his mouth like he had just eaten something sweet and tasty. She giggled and he put her down.

He finally focused his attention on Bella and walked over to where she was sitting on the love seat. He looked at her from head to toe and started chuckling. Bella became very self-conscious because everyone's eyes turned to her at that moment, but they looked away when they realized she was uncomfortable.

"Are you the little lady all this commotion is over?" Bella was immediately embarrassed and looked down ashamedly.

He sat down on the couch next to her and just started talking to her like he had known her his whole life,

"Isn't this couch the most comfortable thing you've ever felt in your life? Grandma had to put me out when I first came to visit after the remodel. You should feel how comfortable that bed is. Esme is the woman! I'm Ben Nelson, by the way; Edward's cousin on the Masen side. His father was my mother's little brother. As you've probably noticed, I'm the more handsome of the two, but Edward has yet to accept this fact. So, your name is Isabella Swan?"

Bella finally nodded because she didn't think she would get a word in edge-wise with this character.

"It's Bella. Just Bella."

"It fits. You actually look like a Disney princess. You know the one from Beauty and the Beast. I think her name is actually Bella. Don't ask me how I know these things. I have to protect my image. So, I guess you're the main reason why Edward has a bigger stick up his ass than usual?"

He paused and smiled at her and Bella realized he was waiting for her to speak.

"Oh, I don't know what he's usually like. I just met him today."

He chuckled again.

"Well, I have a feeling that's going to change. You're not married or dating anyone seriously are you?"

Her stomach flipped again at the implication of his question.

"Nope. At this point…I'm just trying to …you know…stay alive."

He snorted, "I heard that, lil sis. Well, you have nothing to worry about. Edward is a pain in the ass, but he's thorough and he will not let anything hurt you." For the first time since he walked in he looked completely serious and she nodded at him.

He smiled,

"Well, I gotta go scare the shit out of this Jasper dude so he'll know not to fuck around with my Ali's feelings. It's nice to meet you, lil princess. Give me my hug."

He stood up and opened his arms. Bella couldn't help but adore him. She got up and received the biggest bear hug she had ever had. He picked her up off the ground and set her back down gently. He touched the tip of her nose affectionately.

"Do I look scary?" He put on a mock scowl.

She giggled and snorted at the same time, "Very."

"Good." He winked at her and walked away.

****DBW****

Edward was speaking to the F.B.I. agents while Bella was talking to Ben. He finally turned his attention to her and walked over to where she was now sitting in the living room on one of the couches. He sat next to her and gently picked up her hand. He let out a sigh and visibly relaxed.

"Isabella, the sketch artist is here from the F.B.I. with Alistair Martin, who's a good friend of mine and a consultant with the F.B.I. He's a retired agent and very good at what he does. He'll be asking you a few questions and trying to get a clear picture from the video to send out along with your sketch." Bella nodded and he squeezed her hand.

"I'll be working on a plan of action with the other officers here for your and my grandmother's protection. We have a few ideas we want to run by you. But, we can save that for a little later. What I want you to do now is eat. We're all going to take some time and eat." Bella had forgotten that she still hadn't eaten and realized that her headache was probably from a combination of hunger and tension.

"How are you feeling? Do you need anything besides food?" He looked searchingly at her face. All the dirty thoughts that went through her mind shocked her speechless. He honed in on her mouth after he stared into her eyes for what seemed like a lifetime to Bella.

"Poor girl. You can't even talk. Let's get some sugar and carbs into your system. You must be in shock." He was rubbing soothing circles on the back of her hand again.

He pulled her up from the couch and over to the dining room table where everyone was passing around bread, salad, and digging into bowls of chili or plates of spaghetti. Edward pulled out an empty chair for her and beckoned for her to sit. Nobody but her father had ever pulled out a chair for her. She sat down and he pushed her seat under the table as though she weighed nothing. He sat right next to her and began to fix her plate.

Bella was looking at him like he grew another head but he just kept talking and putting food on her plate like this was completely normal. She watched him closely wondering if given the chance would he actually feed her and burp her. She was not used to people taking care of her. But, she let him do it because it seemed to calm him.

"I think you need spaghetti because it'll be softer on your stomach. You can always have some chili later. I hope you don't mind. What kind of dressing do you like on your salad? We have Thousand Island, Creamy Italian, and a Raspberry Vinaigrette?"

She squeaked out, "Creamy Italian."

After he finished loading up her plates he got up, went into the kitchen and brought back two Cokes and two glasses filled with ice and one empty glass.

"I didn't know if you wanted ice or not, so I got you an empty glass, just in case." He set everything in front of her and even popped open her soda can to let the air out so it wouldn't fizz all over her.

She was still staring at him as he started fixing his plate. He looked at her and grabbed her hand to give it a gentle squeeze.

"Dig in. We had to reheat it from before. Don't let it get too cold."

Bella looked up and Shirley, Alice, and Ben were grinning at her and Alice was actually clapping softly and vibrating in her seat. Edward seemed oblivious. She blushed and started eating her food. It was delicious and she was ravenous. After the first bite she got lost in the taste of the homemade sauce, and the smell of the garlicky and buttery warm bread. Her plate was empty and clean in record time.

"You want some more?" He looked at her smiling like he was proud of her for eating all of her food. Bella would've rolled her eyes at him if they weren't so heavy from the feast she had just eaten. "There's plenty of chili left. You want to try it?"

"No. I think if I eat another bite I'm going to explode." She patted her full stomach and leaned back in her chair. After a while, she pushed her chair back to go to the restroom. Edward, Ben, Jasper and Alistair stood up with her.

She looked around a little startled. Edward leaned down and whispered in her ear. "You can use the restroom down the hallway, first door on your left, or you can use the one in grandma's office."

She shivered a little because of his proximity and his warm breath in her ear, nodded and said politely, "Excuse me, everybody." They all just smiled and as soon as she left the vicinity the men sat back down. Apparently, chivalry was alive, well and in abundance around the Cullen/Masen family.

When she came out Edward was waiting for her with her hoodie draped over his arm.

"I saw you shiver. It is a little chilly in here. I turned up the heat a few notches, but here's your jacket until it warms up." He held the jacket out for her to slide her arms into. Bella was slightly embarrassed he noticed her shiver earlier, but at the same time felt a warming in her chest because of it. She was going to need time to sort out the complexity of Edward Cullen in her mind. Right now she just wanted to enjoy this side of him.

"Thanks, Edward. Not just for the jacket, but everything." She beamed up at him.

He reached out as though he was going to stroke her cheek and his eyes actually twinkled at her. But, he pulled his hand back suddenly and said,

"You're welcome, Isabella. Let's get that sketch done and talk to you about what we've planned."

****DBW****

After the sketch artist was done, Edward walked Bella into the office with Alistair. He looked at her and smiled. He was a man in his mid-sixties, with a pleasantly wrinkled face and crinkles around his eyes and mouth indicating that he had smiled a great deal in his life. His eyes were steel blue and held a strong glint of mischief and rebellion. She immediately liked him. He reached out and enveloped her hand in a warm handshake where he placed his other hand on top of hers.

"Isabella, it's nice to see you again. I wish it wasn't under these circumstances. I knew your father, Charlie. You've grown into a striking young woman. He would be so proud." Edward's and Bella's eyes lit up with interest.

"Thank you, sir. I'm sorry I don't recall meeting you. You knew my dad?" She leaned in anxious for his answer and wondering how.

"Yes. Most definitely. Your father taught me everything I know about modern finger-print analysis and surveillance. I gave him attitude at first because he was so much younger than me when I trained with him. But, he took it in stride and was really patient with me."

Bella's mouth gaped open like a guppy fish.

"He taught? I thought…I didn't know he taught." She was genuinely perplexed.

Alistair chuckled, "Yeah! He was in D.C . all of the time. When we met you were a baby. Maybe two or three. Everybody used to play with you and let you handcuff them to their desks." He chuckled so that his whole body shook.

Bella's eyebrows scrunched and gathered in the middle.

"So, that's why he was gone so much?"

Alistair squeezed her hand and patted her cheek.

"If you want, I can talk to you a little more about him at another time. Would you like that?"

"Absolutely!" She said it so loudly and enthusiastically that she covered her mouth with her hand in embarrassment. She tried to explain her excitement away.

"I mean, obviously, you're pretty optimistic about finding this guy if you're speaking of my future." He scoffed at her.

"I am 100% certain this man will be caught and you WILL have a long future if I have anything to do with it."

Edward started speaking almost to himself,

"Swan…Charlie…Charles Swan. I've seen his name all of my life in my grandmother's photo album. He was one of my father's trainers. That's where I know your name."

Alistair nodded and smiled at him. He looked between Bella and Edward and grinned in a sage manner.

"Isn't it interesting that you two should meet in Chicago of all places. It almost seems like…destiny." He winked at them and they both looked down bashfully.

Edward cleared his throat lightly and said,

"Alistair, I'll give you and Bella some privacy." He quickly walked out and closed the door.

Alistair asked Bella some questions about her encounter with the fake delivery man. The interview lasted for about twenty minutes before he announced he had all the information he needed.

"Mr. Martin, why is everyone so sure this is the guy? How do we know he wasn't sent by the guy, or the guy wasn't aware of what was written on his hat? Maybe he's a victim himself. How are you all even sure it's a guy that's doing this?"

"Firstly, you don't have to be so formal with me. You can call me Alistair or Al, whichever one you feel most comfortable with. Secondly, those are excellent questions. Thirdly, the answers to your questions are all the same…we don't _know _anything for certain_. _We are making educated guesses based on profiling and other tidbits of information we can gather. Also, from what you told me and the video, he didn't seem scared or nervous at all. I don't think that man was a victim. We have pondered the idea that he may have help. But, we have even less information about that. However, we're not ruling out that a female is involved in the…lure of his victims somehow." He beamed proudly at her. "You are truly your father's daughter."

He got up and gathered all of his documents.

"Don't worry, Bella. You're in excellent hands with Edward. He's just as much his father's son as you are your father's daughter. He's beating himself up about not catching this guy, yet. But, there is truly nothing more he can do than what he's already doing. Trust me on that. The only real flaw I see in him is that he's a 'can't see the forest for the trees' kind of man. Maybe you can help him see the big picture? " He smiled adoringly at her and squeezed her hand again before he left.

As soon as Bella left the room, Shirley's home phone began to ring and she picked up before Edward could. He scowled and went into the kitchen to pick up the extension.

"Masen residence."

She listened and indicated for the person on the other end to hold.

"Bella, your friend Angela and your sister are here waiting to see you in the diner." She turned to Edward and asked, "Should I invite them up?"

He looked at Bella who nodded at him enthusiastically. He agreed, but said he'd go down and walk them up.

"Eric, Edward will be down momentarily. Give the baby some oatmeal raisin cookies for me." The called ended and she turned to Bella apologetically,

"That's okay isn't it. I know it's late, but I thought she could probably use a little snack." Bella smiled at this woman she was quickly growing affectionate towards and said,

"That's fine, Shirley. I usually let her have a little snack before bed-time." Bella looked at her watch and noticed it was 9:30 p.m. With all the things that had happened that day, she was surprised that just a few hours had passed since Shirley had led them up to the apartment. She also recalled that she had to be at work in a few hours. She noticed that four more very large men had gathered in the front room. The room looked large and roomy when they first walked in, but now looked like the equivalent of a clown car with all the burly men seated on sofas and Shirley sized dining room chairs.

Alice walked up to Bella and explained who they were. "Bella this is half of Emmett's security team. He insisted that they be here to guard Shirley and the restaurant. You should have seen Edward. He turned purple he was so mad. He felt like Emmett would be compromising the safety of his own family. But, Emmett is right and he employs his security. So, Edward has no real say which really pissed him off. He also knows they're safe because he insisted on the most thorough background checks known to man before they could work for Emmett. But, in the end, they agreed that Shirley is not the killer's real target." She looked immediately repentant for her bluntness. "What I mean is grandma doesn't fit his usual profile and the extra security will allow the police to focus on your protection." She winced and looked up at Bella as though she were imploring her for forgiveness.

Bella patted Alice's shoulder, "I knew what you meant, Alice. You don't have to walk around on egg shells with me. I can take honesty. In fact, I prefer it."

She flashed a thousand-watt smile at Bella, "I knew I liked you for a reason."

An attractive female officer in street clothes and a detective shield walked up to Bella.

"Hi. I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Lisa McNichols. She and Bella were about the same height and had the same coloring, however, she looked slightly older. But, it could have been the stress of the job showing around her eyes. "I've worked with Edward for a long time. When you get tired of all this testosterone come sit by me. I'll get them to give you a little air." Bella smiled and looked around.

"Well, I'm covered but, what about you? Who are you going to sit by?"

Lisa laughed loudly and replied, "That's a good question that I've been asking myself for about twelve years now." They talked for a little while longer until they heard the outside door opening. Everyone became quiet and all the officers placed their hands on the various places on their person where there was a weapon. Lisa motioned for Bella and all the other ladies to go and sit in the living room area while all the officers and security surrounded them like a human wall.

Edward came in the room holding a sleeping Amanda with a half eaten cookie crumbling on his shirt and Angela following closely behind him. Bella noticed that Amanda was holding Davie, her teddy bear, with her baby blanket tied around his neck like a cape.

"Stand down, everybody. It's just me and Isabella's family." He said quietly so as not to awaken Amanda.

Everyone relaxed and Bella quickly walked over and opened her arms for Edward to pass Amanda over. He shook his head no and pointed it in the direction of the hallway and motioned for her to follow him. She looked at Angela and who was grinning widely and mouthing, "Oh my god!" Bella rolled her eyes at her, but couldn't hide the smile that came to her face. She followed Edward trying extremely hard not to ogle the magnificent spectacle that was his ass and focus on the fact that her baby sister was there cradled in this man's arms who was practically a stranger and she didn't know where he was taking them. She was internally kicking herself for feeling jealous of her little sister and pondering the confused state her mind had become when he stopped at a door that was practically at the end of the hallway and opened it. He flipped a light switch and a flight of stairs were revealed. He motioned with his head for her to go first.

She noticed he was humming lightly. It registered that it was _Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star_ and her heart just about melted. When she reached the landing the stairs led to she noticed four more doors. He reached out and grabbed her hand pulling her to the door on the left. Bella opened the door for him and they walked in. He whispered,

"This is basically my floor. I lived here while my loft was being finished a few years back." He lay Amanda down in the king-sized bed. She looked like a little dinghy lost at sea. Everything on the bed was various shades of blue and white. He quietly walked over to his chest of drawers and pulled out a football jersey.

"It'll be big on her, but it's clean and comfortable. I'll step out while you get her ready for bed."

Bella looked confused. "Aren't you taking us home?"

He set the shirt down, took off Amanda's shoes, and tucked her in under the comforter making sure Davie was next to her, "Snug as a bug in a rug." He mumbled under his breath.

He grabbed Bella's hand and led her out the room quietly closing the door.

Bella laughed and he looked at her puzzled.

"You don't have to be so quiet. Amanda can sleep through anything. When she was a baby I had her hearing checked." They both chuckled.

"By the way, how did you get her to let you hold her? She's not very comfortable around men."

He shrugged. "She just stared at me for a minute, asked me if I was an angel, climbed into my lap and started eating cookies until she fell asleep." They both laughed while he led her to another room that was a little smaller. There was a deep brown leather settee at the foot of the queen-sized bed. Where everything was blue in Edward's room, everything was a contrast in gold's and browns in this room. He led them to sit down.

"She asked if you were an angel?" She was a little embarrassed at her sister's sudden fascination with all things spiritual since she found out she would be attending a Christian school.

"Yeah. That threw me for a loop, too. I've been called a lot of things, but 'angel' does not come up often." He laughed lightly, but got serious.

"The 'going home' part is what I wanted to talk to you about. There's plenty of room here for you, Amanda and Angela. There will be a police presence and guards here 24/7 and before the night is over the phones will be tapped. We needed a warrant because Grandma is being stubborn. I was hoping you would agree to stay here for a couple of weeks until we can set up security in your building. We can go and pack a few bags for you and we can still get Amanda to her bus in the morning with no problem. We can even arrange for it to pick her up here."

She was perplexed as to how he knew about Amanda's bus ride to Naperville.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that Angela and I chatted for a few minutes in the diner. We were waiting on fresh cookies."

"But, is this okay with Shirley, Edward?"

"I'm sure she'll have no problem with it. She really likes you and she mostly stays at her condo in Downer's Grove, anyway. She only stays here a few days a week."

She contemplated living just above where she had to work for two weeks. There were a lot of benefits to this arrangement. She wouldn't have to leave Amanda out in Bolingbrook until she got home from work and she could spend more time with her. Angela wouldn't have to go live in Bolingbrook with her mom. She could stay there and still have a quick commute to her job downtown. Then, there was the being close to Edward factor, which was quickly becoming a very important issue in her mind.

"Okay. If Angela and Shirley are okay with it, I'm okay with it." He smiled at her and reached out to touch her cheek, as he did before. He stopped briefly, but kept going until he had molded his large hand to her blushing right cheek and she closed her eyes.

"You do that a lot you know." She popped open her eyes and sat up straight.

"I-I do what a lot?" She stammered out.

He snickered at her, "You blush a lot." He trailed his finger down her cheek leaving a trail of fire.

He snapped his hand back like he suddenly remembered something.

"You can go ahead and get Amanda ready for bed and you're always welcome to use one of my shirts to sleep in." He looked down like he had said the wrong thing. "You can sleep in this room. I'll sleep downstairs. Uhmm…let me show you the laundry closet."

He gently pulled her up from the settee and out into the hallway. The words, "I'll sleep downstairs," where whirling around in her head like a mantra. Images of a half-naked sleeping Edward with his hair splayed out on a pillow swarmed her brain like a hive of hormonal bees. Her knees buckled a little. He looked at her with concern.

"Are you okay? Do you want something else to eat?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He scrutinized her skeptically, but finally led her to the third door, which was a closet sized room with a washer, dryer and a large sink for soaking and hand washing. "Well, outside of the bathrooms and linen closets, this is the whole apartment."

He stood there rubbing circles on the back of her hand and staring down at her until she heard Amanda cry out, "Bella?"

She snapped out of it and started towards the room. Edward called out, "I'll be downstairs, Isabella."

****DBW****

Bella rushed into the room to find Amanda sitting up with a frightened look on her face.

"Bella! Where have you been? Where are we?" She sobbed out.

Bella pulled her into her lap and rocked her back and forth.

"Shhhhhh, Manda Bear. I'm here. We're safe." She kept rocking her sister, and raking her fingers through the hair that was so much like her own until she stopped crying.

There was no mistaking Bella and Amanda were related. They couldn't deny each other if they wanted to. The big difference being that Amanda was half Cuban with brown skin and stark blue eyes. The contrast startled some people. She was a breathtakingly beautiful little girl. People used to stop Bella and ask if Amanda could model for baby products, but she always said no. She didn't want anyone exploiting her sister for her looks. It pissed her off when people called her 'exotic looking,' like she was something other than a regular human being. She's just a little brown girl with blue eyes.

Amanda leaned back and looked in her sister's face, "Where's the angel that was humming to me?"

Bella chuckled, "Manda, that man wasn't an angel. He's a police officer. His name is Edward and he's trying to keep us safe from a bad man who's been hurting people. We're going to live here for a little while in his grandmother's apartment. But, guess what?"

She perked up and asked excitedly, "What?"

"You don't have to stay with Aunt Iris when school is over. You can come right home to me and we can spend more time together after school. Isn't that great?"

Amanda looked down considering the situation.

"What bad man does the ange…I mean, the man have to protect us from?"

Bella knew she couldn't gloss anything over with her sister. She was smarter than average and very insightful for her age, "There's a man that is hurting women that look like me in the city. Edward's being extra safe to make sure he doesn't hurt me, you, or Angela."

"Bella Boo, there are a lot of ladies that look like you. Why is he just making sure the man doesn't get you?" She stared at Bella waiting for an answer.

"Well, police officer Edward thinks I'm special because the man let him know he's watching me in particular."

Amanda's eyes grew big and she asked the logical question, "Why?"

Bella responded in the only way she knew how…honestly, "I don't know."

Amanda nodded and put her head down like she was processing everything.

She finally looked up and asked excitedly, "So, we're staying with the ange…Edward?"

Bella laughed outright, "How did you get it into your head that Edward is an angel?"

She looked down contemplatively, "Well, I read that angels have light all around them and they look perfect and they do good things for God. Edward has light all around him, his eyes sparkle, and he smells like candy. The first thing he did was give me oatmeal raisin cookies…my favorite. I didn't even have to tell him. It all fit." She looked at Bella with the equivalent of a look that said, 'duh." Bella laughed so hard the bed shook.

"So giving you the cookies was a good work from God?"

Amanda looked at her like she was mentally challenged again. "Bella Boo, they were _oatmeal raisin_. Most grown-ups think kids like chocolate chip cookies."

She didn't have the heart to tell her that she told Shirley what her favorite were. She hugged her sister and looked at her lovingly, "You are really special, Manda Bear. Let's get you ready for bed."

They went through their nightly ritual the best they could with Edward's bathroom products. Everything he owned had cocoa and Shea butter in it and had the name _Carol's Daughter_ on it. She had to admit that after she finished putting the lotion on Amanda's skin it looked much healthier. Her hair even looked shinier. She kept inhaling the scent and realized that this is why his hair smelled liked chocolate.

"Bella Boo, do I still get to see Aunt Iris?"

"Absolutely! You just won't see her every day for a little while."

"How do you know?" Amanda asked as Bella pulled Edwards jersey over her head and tucked her in again. She smiled at the memory of Edward doing the same thing earlier.

"How do I know what, sweetie?"

"How do you know Edward's _not_ an angel?"

Bella was getting stumped trying to think of a definitive way to tell a kid that a person couldn't be an angel. She hadn't been to church since her father's death and was a little rusty on her Bible stories. She said the first thing that popped into her head.

"He belches."

Amanda's eyes bugged, "What?"

"He belches. Angels can't belch." Bella didn't have the faintest idea where that thought came from. She hadn't heard Edward belch so far. But, that was all her tired brain could muster.

Amanda looked down and began nodding, "Okay. You might be right about this. I'll sleep on it."

Bella laughed, "Why thank you for giving my answer deep consideration. Now, try to go to sleep."

"Bella?"

"Yes, hon?"

"He looks like me."

Bella didn't know what she meant until she saw her touch her own cheek and smile.

"I guess he does."

"I think I'll let him play with Davie tomorrow." Bella gasped a little. Amanda didn't even let her play with Davie, her favorite teddy bear.

Amanda smiled and turned over sinking into the bed and mumbled, "Snug as a bug in a rug."

****DBW****

When she was sure Amanda was asleep she left the room to head back downstairs. She was a little bothered by the fact that Amanda had been aware all along that she looked different than the people around her. There weren't that many kids with brown skin in her school. Bella had noticed a few Indian children and various other Asians. However, she had only seen one or two other black American and Latino kids, but they were older. She briefly wondered if she made a mistake sending her to that school. Then, she remembered the night before last when she put her to bed and she said,

"_Tempus fugit, Bella Boo." _Bella blinked at her until she said,

"_It's Latin. It means, 'time flees.' My teacher taught us that. Did you know that?"_

Yeah, she made the right choice in schools.

It was 10:30 p.m. by the time she got back downstairs and she was exhausted. When she entered the living room she realized the only people there were family and Angela. The police officers, FBI, security, and Jasper were gone.

Alice and Angela were watching a movie and talking on the couch like they had known each other forever. Ben was sitting on a stool in the kitchen sneaking glances at Angela every few seconds. Shirley was cleaning up the kitchen. Edward was out of sight. She figured he was in Shirley's office. Instead of searching frantically for him, as was her impulse, she pulled herself together and decided to offer Shirley some help.

"Oh, child, I'm almost done. After I turn this dishwasher on, I'm heading out to Downer's Grove. I won't be in tomorrow. You and Charlotte can handle things."

Bella finally asked, "So you don't mind us staying in your apartment."

Shirley looked at Bella like she was insane.

"I would be angry if you didn't. There's no reason in the world why you shouldn't stay here. There's plenty of room. Stay as long as you like."

Bella walked up and hugged Shirley as tightly as she knew how, to her own and Shirley's surprise, "I don't normally hug people, Shirley, but I thank you soo much for welcoming us into your home."

Shirley laughed and said, "You're welcome, doll. I love hugs and company."

Bella heard chuckles and turned around to see Edward and Ben watching the scene in front of them.

"Hey Chuckles, you want to get your ass in gear so you can take me home?" Ben jumped up off his stool and said promptly, "Yes, ma'am."

Shirley walked into her office to grab her things and Ben walked up to Bella and said, "Sooo…your friend Angela…she's….beautiful." He immediately looked shy, like he intended to say something much more subtle.

Bella laughed and said, "Have you been introduced?" The man she was looking at was not the man that grabbed her into a bear hug earlier. He was bashful and he looked a little frightened.

"She probably doesn't want to be bothered."

Bella scoffed at him, "Nonsense! Come with me." She held out her hand for him and he gave her his large paw timidly.

"Ang, I want you to meet somebody."

Angela turned around and looked at Bella expectantly.

"Angela Weber this is Benjamin Nelson. Ben is Edward's cousin. He's a police officer in Naperville. Ben, Angela is a Regional Manager for Bennigan's. We've been friends since we were kids."

Ben reached out and gently shook her hand like he was afraid to hurt her. She smiled so brightly at him he had no choice but to smile back. She finally spoke.

"It's nice to meet you, Benjamin. Do you want to watch this movie with us? It's kind of a chick flick, but it's pretty funny."

He looked conflicted and said dejectedly, "I can't. I have to take my grandmother home." He perked up a little and said, "Raincheck? You're staying here with Bella right?"

Angela nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, I'll definitely be back." All the time they were talking he never let her hand go. When he realized that he laughed and released it gently. Alice had her hand over her mouth stifling a giggle.

"What are you laughing at, Munchkin." He smiled at Alice and gave her a noogie. She slapped his hand away and pinched his cheek.

"Get ready, Ali, because I'm taking you home, too." Ben said with authority.

Alice pouted. "Can't I just stay here with Ang and Bella?"

"Don't you have important client meetings in the morning? Get your stuff together, little one."

She huffed, but started getting ready to leave.

Shirley interjected, "Well, I guess I know what I have to do now to get my grandson to visit me more often." She winked at Angela who blushed and stared pointedly at Ben.

He coughed lightly and said, "Well, it was nice to meet you, Bella and Angela. I'll be downstairs in the car."

Shirley laughed at her burly grandson scurrying away with his tail between his legs.

"Big ole baby."

Bella smiled at Shirley and nodded her agreement. Alice hugged Bella again and promised to be back the next day before she left to go get in Ben's car. Shirley showed Bella and Angela all of the keys and the door that led to the diner from inside the apartment. It was actually a small freight elevator that went from the basement to the third floor. But a special key was required to go above the diner to the apartment.

She gave them one last hug and Bella stood at the door watching her walk down the steps to get into Ben's car. She felt a presence right behind her and when she backed up two steps she stumbled against the solid wall of Edward's body. He reached out and steadied her by holding onto her waist. He dropped his hands after she was stable, but he grabbed her hand and started rubbing circles on the back of it. This was quickly becoming a feeling she didn't want to live without.

He whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, Isabella. I won't let you fall."

****DBW****

**A/N: I'm going to explain some of Edward's reactions a little better in the next chapter. I don't want to recap everything you've just read from his perspective, but they will overlap slightly. A few things I want to clarify:**

**I am NEVER announcing a date or day when I'm posting again. My brain freezes up and I can't write when I do that. Unfortunately, I'll have to say I'll get it out when I can. I apologize.**

**The**_** El**_** is the train system in Chicago. Everybody calls it the **_**El**_** because it travels on an elevated rail around downtown.**

**I know I've focused a great deal on Shirley, but Esme, Carlisle, Emmett and Rosalie will be back in full force in future chapters.**

_**Carol's Daughter**_** is a line of hair, bath and beauty products that are formulated around black people's hair and skin needs, in particular. But anybody can use the products. They smell fabulous!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

****DBW****

Chapter 5 – Cracks in the Mask

August 2, 2010

Edward hadn't slept. He had spent the previous evening and early morning going over the files of the other fifteen girls that had been murdered with Jasper. He had gone over toxicology reports; talked to the Medical Examiner and showed Jasper the timeline he had created using the victim's pictures on the cork board in the roll call room.

Sitting in his loft at 4 a.m. was nerve wrecking. He felt that he should be doing something…anything to stop this guy. On the other hand, he had so much to do that day. He had to go and pick up Alice in Naperville, go visit his niece, Emily, in Evanston, and stop by his grandmother's diner in Hyde Park where he agreed to meet with Jasper. He had gotten some new information about the latest girl and he wanted to ask a few more questions about some of the others. Edward wasn't fooled, though. He knew he just wanted an excuse to see Alice again.

He really had no problem with Jasper dating Alice. She was a good judge of character; almost as good as his grandmother. The fact that she liked Jasper confirmed the good feeling he had about him. But, he had to put a good old-fashioned big brother scare into him. He had asked his cousin Ben for some back-up on that task. They had tried to tag- team that guy she dated in high school…Walter Benson. He was a punk. He ran away from Edward and Ben as soon as he saw them coming. Alice wouldn't speak to him for a week, but he knew that if a man couldn't stand up to them for Alice, he wasn't worth it. She admitted she knew it too, eventually. She was angrier about them treating her like a baby.

Esme had decorated the loft so that he would feel at home and it would be a respite from the world. She knew that's what he needed. That's what he always needed; a place where he could just be…no judgment and no expectations. She had divided the loft into distinct living areas. He had an enclosed bedroom on the second floor with a master bath that touted a six head steam shower with a waterfall feature and a separate Jacuzzi tub. He could get to the bathroom from three different doorways; the one in his bedroom area, through his walk-in closet, or from the hallway. There were skylights everywhere. He couldn't get good natural light or a good view from where his loft was situated. So, Esme opted to let the light in from the sky. He had spent many nights turning into a human prune in his tub staring up into the night sky.

He had two guest bedrooms; one specifically for his niece, Emily, and the other for family and friends when they stayed over. Edward had a California king-sized bed that a family of six could easily sleep in comfortably. It was a bachelor's pad, but it wasn't so manly that a woman couldn't enjoy it there. Esme had put in feminine touches and splashes of color throughout the place. She tried to infuse both parts of his heritage into the décor. The Cullen family crest was inlaid into the tile of the bathroom floor and the backsplash of the kitchen. However, there were Igbo masks and Zulu shields and spears hung on the wall in his foyer and his art reflected many famous black American and Irish artists. One of his favorite pictures was hung in his kitchen. It was a picture of a fighting rooster done by a local Irish artist. He couldn't help but relate to the little fierce guy with his reddish brown feathers. Edward's hair was a little more sandy brown than red; Esme called it auburn. However, the rooster standing alone and waiting for challengers always reminded him of parts of his life. That rooster looked like a fighter and a survivor.

His favorite feature of the home was the music room on the main floor. It was soundproof, but if he wanted to play music throughout the house, it was wired to do so. Edward had a passion for music and that was his first college major. In fact, he went to the University of Chicago on a music scholarship. He had taken piano lessons from the time he was eight until he graduated from eighth grade, due to Esme's insistence. However, he was self-taught on the drums, the trumpet, and the flute. People said he had a beautiful singing voice, but he didn't like to sing. He liked to play and write music. His baby grand piano was in the main living area on a raised platform near the dining area. But, his small upright piano was in the music room. That's the one he learned to play on…it was his biological mother's. She and his father loved jazz. They would play Charlie Parker, Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane and Miles Davis on every given opportunity. It's funny how he couldn't really remember his father's voice, but he remembered him slow-dancing his mother around the small living room floor to, "Darn that Dream," on Miles Davis' _Birth of the Cool_ album and making gagging noises while they laughed at him. He still had their old record player and their vinyl records. He would never part with them.

His place held great meaning for him in many ways. However, lately, it had become more of a prison than paradise. The bed that was big enough for six only slept one, when he could sleep. It wasn't that he couldn't have _someone_ in his bed any night he wanted to. If he had called Tanya, he was sure she would have been over there before he finished the call despite the warning he had given her to stay away and his less than hospitable behavior the day before. He shuddered at the thought of Tanya's fake purr in his ear. At thirty-one, he felt like he was getting too old for just anybody to be in his bed. He wanted a family. He wanted voices to greet him when he came home. He wanted something other than work to keep him up at night. He wanted something real. He knew it was possible. He had witnessed it in his parents' and in his biological parents' relationships. Hell, he had even witnessed it in Rosalie and Emmett. He thought that Emmett was insane to marry right out of high school. But, he couldn't deny that what they had was good. Now that Alice had met Jasper, he would be the only one alone. It wasn't a new feeling. He had always been the odd man out.

As a child in Naperville, he was too black for some kids and not black enough for others. In Chicago, when he went to visit the other part of his family, the kids in the neighborhood called him 'white boy.' In addition to that, he was a chubby kid, with crooked teeth and a reddish-brown curly afro. Needless to say, being different and going through an awkward phase in his youth did not make him very popular. He didn't ever seem good enough for anybody outside of his family. He had gotten into so many fights at school, around his neighborhood and Chicago Carlisle and Esme were considering sending him to an anger management camp they had learned about. Thankfully, his Aunt Carmen's late husband, Richard, took him to a local gym and started getting him to hit the heavy bag over one summer. He eventually graduated to the speed bag and began an eating and exercise routine that shed some of the extra pounds. Esme freaked out when she found out he was pounding his 'piano fingers' into another kid's stomach and a heavy bag. But, Carlisle convinced her that kids, particularly boys, need to let off steam and it was a good idea. When Edward went back to school that fall he had braces, a new haircut, had lost twenty-five pounds and was more confident than he had ever been. But, he still had problems fitting in anywhere. He wanted to be a part of something so he asked Esme and Carlisle if he could sign up for Little League football and they agreed as long as he kept up with his homework and music lessons.

When his Uncle Richard heard about his identity problems he pulled him to the side, turned him towards a mirror and asked,

"_What do you see?"_

"_I see me and you."_

"_Okay. What do you see when you see me?"_

_He looked at him confused, "I see my Uncle Richard."_

"_So, what do you see when you see you?"_

"_I see Edward Cullen."_

"_When you look at me do see your black Uncle Richard, or your Uncle Richard that's going to whoop your tail if you don't get your math grade up?"_

_Edward swallowed hard, "I just see you and I promise to get my grade up."_

"_Good. But, I'm a black man right?"_

"_Yes."_

"_You have skin like mine, don't you?"_

"_Yes."_

"_So, you're a black man, too, right?"_

"_I don't know." He still felt confused._

"_If I were white would you love me any less?"_

"_No!" He looked at his uncle like he was insane._

"_Okay then. I wouldn't love you any less if you came out with white skin, either. You would still be my little EJ."_

_He turned Edward around and looked him in the eyes, "Did you love your mother less because she was white?"_

"_No. I loved mom with all of my heart. I love Esme, too, and Carlisle." Tears sprung to his eyes._

"_Did you love your dad more than your mom, Esme and Carlisle because he was black?"_

"_Of course not, Uncle Richard!" _

"_Calm down, little man. All I'm trying to tell you is that all that matters is who you love and who loves you back. It doesn't matter what color they are. You are a black man with a white parent and a black parent. That doesn't mean you don't love your mother. It just means that your race is different than hers. Having a white mother doesn't make you less black than me. It makes who you are as a man that much richer." He put his hand on Edward's chest where his heart would be and said, "This is what you need to care about…your heart. Who you are on the inside is the most important thing about you. Don't ever forget that."_

At that point, Edward still didn't understand why he should have to pick one race or the other, but he came to agree with his uncle over time. He had biracial friends that didn't care what you called them. They wouldn't check any one box. But, Edward had experiences in his life that made him self-identify as a black man in America and those same experiences also led him to law enforcement.

One day after his first spring break from the University of Chicago, as a freshman. He opted to stay home and help his uncle open a little candy store in a neighborhood on the South Side. His uncle remembered people running little candy shops out of their homes for extra cash before drugs flooded the communities in the 80's and he wanted to bring that same neighborhood feeling back to this community. Edward had just purchased a brand new Camry and he had just started growing his hair into the locked style that it's in today. So, he looked a little unkempt, but just like any typical college kid. Well, he was pulled over by the police. He didn't understand why. He wasn't speeding. He had actually just dropped off a friend. But, he was driving through a wealthy community and he didn't fit their idea of who should be there, especially in a brand new car. They forced him out of the car and onto the ground and searched him and handcuffed him. They called for 'back-up' with a drug-sniffing dog and had the dog padding through his brand new car with muddy paws. Of course, they didn't find anything. Edward was scared to death of drugs and had never even experimented with things people felt were harmless, like marijuana. When they found out the name on the last name on the registration was Cullen they became even more belligerent asking him if he had stolen one of the Cullen's cars. Carlisle and Esme were well known throughout the Chicago area. He was a prominent heart surgeon and family doctor. Esme was a well-respected architect and interior designer. He was thoroughly confused. He had given them his driver's license with his name and picture on it. They had to know he was who he said he was from that alone. It took an hour and a half for him to convince them that he had not stolen his own car.

They reluctantly let him go with no apology. Their explanation was that he 'fit the description' of a drug dealer that had been frequenting the area. He left in a rage. He had been the best person he knew how to be. He didn't do drugs, he had only had a few glasses of champagne at parties, and he got good grades. But, those officers couldn't see him. All they saw was his hair, his car, and his skin color. He was shaking thinking of the fact that if he wasn't a Cullen, they probably would've put something in his car to justify the stop.

He finally reached his uncle's new store and it was surrounded by police and yellow tape. The last thing he wanted to see was more cops. He got out trying to get through the crowd to get to his uncle and what he saw knocked him to his knees. There were two young high school age black boys on the ground in handcuffs and the police were standing over the dead body of his uncle. They had robbed him before he even had a chance to get the store open.

He was so confused. He didn't know who to hate more; the police who stopped him for idiotic reasons or the idiots who shot his uncle for candy…there was no money in the store. So they tried to steal the fucking candy. He went into a deep depression. He stopped going to class, he stopped eating, and he couldn't play anything anymore. It took Emmett to snap him out of it. He literally beat him into the shower and made him go home to Naperville. He left school for a semester and worked in his grandmother's diner. She was the one that looked at him and said,

"_Well, what are going to __**do**__ about it?" _

That made him even angrier for a while. He was resentful of the fact that he was affected by problems and attitudes he felt he had no part in creating and shouldn't have to solve them or change them. But, eventually, he realized she was right. He needed to be a part of the solution, not the problem, as cliché as that sounded. That's when he decided to change his major from music to Criminal Justice and go into law enforcement. He learned very quickly that he couldn't be as emotional and open as he had been most of his life. So, he learned to wear a mask of control. Emotion and passion was something he let out in private or around people he knew loved him. The only emotion he couldn't seem to stifle was his anger. There was no mask big enough to hide it. But, his anger fueled him on days like this when he needed sleep. It was as familiar to him as an old shirt or a worn pair of jeans.

****DBW****

His alarm that was supposed to wake him at 6 a.m. went off loudly and dutifully; a stark reminder of how little he had slept. He had dozed off for about thirty minutes earlier, but he couldn't make himself go back to sleep. He turned the alarm off and decided to go downstairs to his gym to wake himself up. His gym was a source of pride for him. He had used the office spaces under his loft for the place. It was called Nelson's Gym in honor of his uncle. When his Aunt Carmen found out about the gym she cried and hugged Edward so hard he could barely breathe. She was devastated when she lost her husband. It took her longer to function again than it did Edward, understandably. Ben was already out of undergrad and in the Academy when his father died. He was devastated, but he was able to get past it by keeping busy. Carmen was completely lost. Esme came by every day to get her out of the house to do something, even if it was just sitting on her porch steps. Eventually, she went back to school and became an accountant. She passed her Certified Public Accountant exam and she was now the Controller for Masen, Inc.

He walked into the gym and looked at the large picture of his uncle on the wall. He pressed two fingers to his lips, kissed them and touched his uncle's picture. It was a silly superstition, but he felt it brought him luck in his job as an officer. He wrapped his hands and started out on the speed bag. He moved to the heavy bag after a while imagining with every blow that it was the face and body of the serial killer he was chasing. He moved to the floor and did some push-ups and sit ups. Finally, he skipped rope for about twenty minutes. By the time he finished, he was drenched in sweat, a little more energized and ready to start his day.

He showered and dressed for the day. He decided to wear a nice button down in case he had to stop by someplace nice or go to the station and an old pair of jeans with a new pair of white sneakers that Alice had just purchased for him. He refused to patronize any brand of shoes that were so expensive kids actually killed each other over them. He couldn't justify supporting a company that didn't seem to care. If he had his way he would just go to Payless Shoes and buy 20 pair of $20 sneakers and call it a day. But, his sister refused to even let him walk past a discount store for clothes or shoes. He missed her when she was in New York, but his life was so much easier when she was away torturing other people over their fashion choices.

He looked back to the empty loft apartment before he left for the day and thought to himself that he would probably get a dog before he locked the door.

****DBW****

When he slid into the driver's seat of his car and put his hands on the steering wheel, he noticed his hands were shaking. He looked in his glove compartment for his Paxil and realized he was down to his last one and there were no refills. Dr. Black had warned him that he couldn't keep prescribing him psych meds. He needed to go see a psychiatrist to keep getting that medication refilled. Edward just said okay, but he never had any intention of sitting in a shrink's office again. He did that for two years of his life. He was done. He put the pill back in the glove compartment and decided to wait and see if things got really bad before he took the last one. He practiced the deep breathing exercises that Enrique, the head trainer at the gym, had showed him one day after a particularly taxing day and the relaxation exercise Esme showed him one day after one of her Pilate's classes. The shaking in his hands finally slowed down and he was able to back out of his Hyde Park garage. He knew his mask of control was slipping more every day. Nothing seemed to calm him anymore; not even music. Paxil was a temporary fix and he didn't want to be 'on' anything anyway. He needed to find a way to get some sleep and be in control of himself. Dr. Black had warned him that sleep deprivation could cause hallucinations and all kinds of physical problems that would make it hard for him to function and his body would force him to sleep at inopportune times. When Jacob explained to him that he would experience episodes of microsleep if he didn't start resting and it could happen while he was driving or holding a gun, he knew he needed help. He just didn't know what to do. Every time he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep he saw the face of a dead girl that he had failed to help. Sleep was torture.

He finally made it to Naperville at about 8:30 a.m. He stopped in and asked Ben how everything had gone the night before with the police patrols and watching the family house. He said that everything went well and they didn't have any problems or encounter anything or anyone unusual. Ben promptly told him he looked like shit and to go home and sleep. He just brushed him off and went ahead to his family's home.

When Carlisle opened the door, he immediately asked,

"What the hell is wrong with your face?" The genuine concern around Carlisle's eyes frightened him, but he tried to cover it up.

"And good morning to you too, pop." Carlisle walked up to him and looked at his pupils.

"Come on. You know I don't do drugs."

"Yeah, but when was the last time you slept?"

Edward swallowed hard and looked down. "Sometimes I have trouble, but I'm doing okay."

"Like hell you are, Edward. Why is it that you can sit up nights worrying about everyone but yourself? If there was no Edward, what in the world would we do?"

Edward looked at Carlisle to see if there was any hint of sarcasm or a lack of sincerity. But, the love he saw reflected back at him was real. He still had trouble understanding how anyone loved him so much.

"After I take Mae Mae home I'll go home and sleep for the rest of the day."

"Edward, you are NOT driving anything or anyone in your condition and don't give me that bullshit about you going home for the rest of the day. I know you already made plans to go out to Evanston."

Alice came into the foyer and interrupted, "What's wrong with you two? Why are you arguing?"

Carlisle turned towards Alice angrily, "Look at your brother. If a wind blew, he would fall over and he drove out here today in this condition. I don't know whether to be grateful he made it or kick his ass. If Esme and I weren't leaving for our vacation today, I'd stay here and make you sleep for a couple of days."

Edward shrunk back against the wall because an angry Carlisle was a rarity.

"Pop, please calm down."

"Don't 'pop' me. Follow me right now."

Edward did as he was told and followed Carlisle into his office. He had an old fashioned apothecary cabinet and he went to one of the top drawers and pulled out some pills.

"What's that?" Edward asked warily.

"It's something to help you sleep."

"I already have sleeping pills."

"Well, now you have more and you're going to take these right here and go to sleep if I have to strap you down, pinch your nose and make you swallow them." Edward considered momentarily if he could take his father in a fight. The fierce look on Carlisle's face said it was risky to even think about it.

"Okay, dad, I'll take them." Carlisle stood there and watched him take the sleeping pills like he was a recalcitrant six-year old and ordered him to bed.

Edward climbed the stairs to his childhood room. He took off his button down and his shoes and lay down across the bed. He closed his eyes trying to think of good memories, what type of dog he wanted to buy, even women that he had been with in the past. But, every image kept morphing into the faces of the Night Stalker's victims. Sleep started to overtake him as a tear rolled down his face. He quickly wiped it away and drifted off to sleep.

****DBW****

Edward woke up at a 1:45 p.m. He didn't even remember dreaming, thankfully. He had to admit that he did feel better and his hands weren't shaking. He also noticed that he was covered in a comforter and there was a note on his nightstand that read,

_Edward,_

_I'm sorry I yelled. I was just concerned about you. Please don't drive until you feel rested enough. We'll be home by the end of the week. You have our cell if you need to contact us._

_Love,_

_Your Pop_

_P.S. Your mom made chocolate chip cookies. Try to beat Alice to them._

Edward let out a genuine laugh. His parents still saw them as the kids they adopted and he loved them for it.

He got up and took a quick shower and redressed for the day. When he finally walked into the kitchen he noticed that there was a half eaten plate of cookies. It was a good thing Emmett was already in training camp. The plate might have been half gone if he were there.

He grabbed a few cookies and sat down at the breakfast bar to enjoy them. Alice walked in and smiled at him. She kissed his cheek and sat next to him.

"Sooo, dad ripped you a new one, huh?" She smiled a sardonic smile at him. "You were scared weren't you?"

"I wouldn't say I was scared. I was concerned that the old man might have a heart attack. I did what I was told out of concern for _him._"

"Uhmmm hmmm. My birthday was yesterday, but I wasn't born yesterday."

"Well, technically, you were born yesterday."

"Oh, just shut up, smart-ass. You know what I mean."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while until Alice spoke up,

"So, why haven't you been sleeping, Edward." He felt guilty because of the look of anxiety and worry on her face.

"Don't worry, doll. I've had trouble because of this serial killer case. But, I'm learning how to cope with it." That lie was rolling off his tongue rather easily lately.

Alice held his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"You'll get him, Edward. I have faith in you."

"So, in other words, you believe I can do something I've shown no indication of being able to do."

"Edward, you're a detective because you have shown that you can solve difficult cases and you passed the detective exam with one of the highest scores ever on your first try. You're intelligent, methodical, and logical. You _have_ done this before. But, you can't solve every case quickly. Some things take time. I know more time means more death. But, you're not killing these women. This maniac is."

"Mae Mae, don't you see? By not catching this guy I am killing these women."

"Edward, I don't care how much you want to make this your fault. It's not. I won't let you beat up on yourself. Get yourself together. We're going to Evanston."

"I thought I was taking you home."

"You _told_ me you were taking me home, dictator. I want to see my niece, too." She jumped up and pinched his nose.

"Meet me at the car, _Teddy_." He scowled at her and she ran away before he could hit her with anything.

When Edward got to his Volvo Alice was sitting in the driver's seat. He looked at her through the driver's side window like she was a creature from another planet. He turned the car on with the remote start and she rolled down the window.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm driving your car to Evanston while you nap."

"Uhmm, I really don't think so, Speedracer. Did you fall and bump your head while I was sleeping?"

"Edward, why do you have to be in control of everything? Give me the stupid key, so I can drive the stupid car to Evanston this one time. Sheesh!"

He thought about the way Emily would surely run him ragged when he got there and decided to let Alice drive so he could rest up.

"Okay. You can this time, but try to do the speed limit, lead foot. This is a Volvo, but it can only do so much to keep us safe."

"Hello. Who are you calling lead foot, Mr. 'I Used to Drag-race my Friends in my Camry in the Jewel Parking Lot?' Nerd. Get in old man!"

He eased into the passenger seat and fastened his seat-belt quickly. Alice rolled her eyes at him as he handed her the key.

"I can't believe you're bringing up things I did over ten years ago. The only time I speed now is when I have the siren on and the cherries flashing and I do that _cautiously_."

"Yeah, yeah. Sit back and go to sleep. We'll be there before you know it."

Edward gave her the evil eye.

"We'll be there safely and all in one piece. Okay?"

****DBW****

He tried to stay awake for the ride, but as soon as she hit the expressway, Edward was lulled right back to sleep.

Suddenly he was staring into the face of the first girl they found, Cheryl Lynn Michelson. She was looking at him, reaching out to him and asking why this was happening to her with completely black eyes. They were in an alley and there was a man on the other side of her crouching in the darkness, but the only thing Edward could see were gleaming white teeth. He kept trying to grab her hand to pull her away from him, but the harder he tried to reach her, the further she would move away from him. The man started laughing a cackling laugh and he said with a sinister edge, _"You'll find me when I want you to, Cullen." _He woke up in a panic, yelling her name and not really knowing where he was.

He looked around and realized he was alone in his car and it was parked. Alice and Rosalie were outside talking and laughing loudly. There were tears streaming down his face. He quickly wiped them and berated himself. He admonished himself to get it together. He pulled a wet wipe that he kept there for when Emily was riding with him out of the glove compartment to clean his face off. He grabbed some lotion out of the console that Alice left there and rubbed it into his face. He looked in the mirror and he did actually look rested. The dark circles under his eyes weren't as deep and there was no puffiness.

Emily was hanging onto Alice and letting her swing her from side to side. Edward got out of the car still a little disoriented. As soon as Emily saw him she yelled out,

"Uncle Edward!" She broke away from Alice and took a running leap into his arms. He was so glad he was awake enough to catch her. She immediately ripped his elastic band out of his hair that was keeping it out of his face.

"You're so pretty, Uncle Edward." She said bashfully.

"Pretty? Boys can't be pretty, silly." He pinched her nose. She was the exact replica of Rosalie with Emmett's mischievous grin and deep dimples.

"You're not a boy! You're an uncle."

"Oh, I see. Well, thank you, but I don't think I'm pretty. You're the one that's pretty." She smiled shyly and laid her head on his shoulder. He kissed her forehead and grunted like she weighed a ton, "What do you weigh now? You're getting big. I think you're too big to play horsey anymore."

Emily looked at him in shock and said, "I don't think so. You're not getting out of playing with me this time, Uncle Edward. Daddy told me you'd try to fool me."

Edward laughed so hard he almost dropped his niece.

"Oh he did, did he? Okay, I'll play horsey with you on one condition."

She looked at him suspiciously, "What condition?"

"You have to give me a kiss hello on the cheek."

She rolled her eyes in true Rosalie-like fashion, "Is that all?"

"Yep. That's the price of admission for a horsey ride." She gave him a loud smack of a kiss on the cheek.

"Now the other one." He said and turned his other cheek.

She said with all the six-year old anger she could muster, "You said one kiss equals a horsey ride."

"But, I want to give you two horsey rides."

She grinned widely and gave him three more kisses on the cheeks.

"Awwww! Well, I guess I have a lot of work to do then. You have to let me rest up. I'm an old horsey. I have to say hello to your mother and get some nourishment."

She hopped down and said okay. He let her run off and play and walked up to Rosalie and nodded.

Alice smiled at him and said, "I didn't want to wake you."

"Thanks, sweetie." He gave her a small squeeze around her shoulders.

He turned to Rose and asked about his brother. "Is Em at training camp?"

"Yep. He is. I guess you almost said hello to me. Come here."

Edward was hesitant to approach his sister-in-law. She blew a breath in exasperation.

"Come. Here." She pointed to the ground in front of her. Alice was stifling a giggle.

He walked up to her, "What do you want?"

She grabbed both of his cheeks and looked at his eyes.

"Shit! Carlisle called you?"

"Yep. He said if you still looked like you were going to fall over I was supposed to beat you into submission, strap you down to a bed, and make you sleep. It did sound kind of kinky at first, but I remembered he was just talking about you so all the sexy flew out the window."

"Pfft! You know I brought sexy back years before that Justin Timberlake. By the way, why does everyone think they can kick my ass all of a sudden?"

"Please! I've known I could take you for years now, Edward."

He couldn't help but laugh at his sister-in-law. She was a pediatric nurse and a damn good one. They fought a lot, but if he needed someone to have his back in a fight with someone else, he would pick her over his own brother and she would gladly do it and vice versa. They were family. It was simple for the both of them.

They all started walking towards the house and she grabbed a handful of his hair.

"What's going on with your hair? It looks dry. Did you put any of that lock butter stuff in it?"

"Yes mother. What's going on with your ass? Are you still feeding it chocolate ice cream and cookies and shit before you go to bed?"

She stopped walking and stood in front of him staring at him with her shoulders squared. Rosalie was the only woman in his family that could look him in the eye while he was standing. She was only four inches shorter than him. In heels they were the same height. Alice stood in the middle because she thought she might have to break up a fight. Edward stared right back with one of his eyebrows raised in a challenge.

First Rosalie's shoulders started shaking, then she grabbed her stomach and finally she bent over laughing. Alice breathed a sigh of relief and Edward just smirked at her.

"That was a good one, Edward. But, don't say that shit again." She tried to look serious after the last part, but then she started laughing again.

"Come on in. I made soup and sandwiches. You'll eat it and you'll like it." She said pointing a finger at Edward. She wrapped her arm around Alice's shoulders and they walked ahead of him to the kitchen talking girl talk.

He muttered to himself,

"I can just feel the love."

****DBW****

Rosalie had turned into a really good cook over the years. She made them a simple meal of homemade chicken noodle soup with grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and it was delicious. Edward liked to give her a hard time because when she and Emmett were first married she could barely boil water. Emmett did all of the cooking until she learned a little more and now they shared the cooking duties according to their schedules.

He was already on his second helping of soup and eating a second sandwich, so he wasn't fooling anybody with what he was about to say, but he had to say it anyway,

"Rose!"

"What Edward?"

"This is almost edible. Congratulations." He smirked at her.

"Well, I added extra special stuff to your soup with only you in mind." She smiled a devilish smile waiting for his reaction. He looked at the soup, shrugged and ate the rest of it.

"Well, if whatever it is hasn't killed me yet I guess I'm immune to it." Rosalie scoffed at him and he smacked his lips and winked at her.

Emily was sitting playing with her dolls, but she was keeping an eye on her uncle. As soon as he stood up, she jumped up.

"Is it horsey time? You owe me four rides. That's what you said right?" She was fidgeting from side to side.

He smiled at her, "Give me fifteen more minutes, Emie pie."

She said dejectedly, "Ooookaaaay."

Edward walked around the table and started to gather up the empty plates, bowls and glasses. Rosalie and Alice looked at him with disbelief,

"What are you doing, trouble-maker? You're clearing the table?"

"It looks that way, Captain Obvious. It's only fair. You did something resembling cooking, so you shouldn't have to clean it up."

"What the…? Come here."

He sighed, "What? I slept in Naperville and I slept in the car. I'm okay." She beckoned to him with her finger. He walked towards her with a sigh,

"What?" She felt his forehead.

"Hmmm…no fever. You're not sick physically. You must be sick mentally." Alice and Rose both laughed loudly.

He looked around to see if his niece was watching and cautiously gave them both the finger while balancing the dishes.

"Yeah, you _better _be careful. That's the china Esme gave me." Rose warned.

He loaded up the dishwasher with the dishes and cleaned the pots and pans by hand. He dried everything he hand-washed and wiped down the counters. He became lost in the rhythm of the work and didn't notice Rosalie standing there watching him.

"You know you're pretty good at that. I might hire you if you decide to quit your day job."

He jumped. "Shit Rose! You need to wear a cowbell or something. What are you, a ninja?"

"If you imply I'm fat or that I'm a cow again there will be repercussions." She stared at him in a challenging manner.

He didn't know if she was serious or not so, he decided to apologize, "Rose, I didn't mean to imply you were a cow. I just meant to imply you were quiet and the ice cream thing was just a joke. You know you're beautiful and you're not fat."

"Yeah, yeah. You know I don't really give a shit what you think. I'm just saying there will be payback on general principal." He smiled at her, shook his head and leaned against the counter because he knew she came to talk.

"Listen, why aren't you sleeping? Alice said it's something to do with that serial killer and you're blaming yourself for things again that are out of your control. At what point in your life exactly are you going to stop doing that?"

He could get away with telling his other family members he was okay most of the time. But, Rosalie was a human lie detector and she would call him on his bullshit.

"Rose, I have…I have nightmares…horrible ones. Sometimes I'm actually scared to go to sleep. I'm seeing the faces of the women he's killing and they're begging me to stop him. Even in my dreams I'm completely useless." He was looking down wondering if it was a wise choice to tell her he was scared of anything.

A few minutes passed and he looked up to see if she was laughing at him. But, she wasn't. She looked genuinely concerned.

"You know, EJ, you don't have to handle everything on your own and I don't want to hear you say you're useless again. I'm the only one that's allowed to talk bad about you." He eyeballed her, but she just ignored him, as usual, and kept on talking, "You've been working on this case for almost eighteen months straight with hardly a day off and no vacation. You are going to completely snap if you don't talk to somebody who really knows how to help you."

"Did Carlisle tell you Jacob wants to me to go to a psychiatrist?"

She shook her head no.

"Rose, I vowed to myself that I'd never sit in a shrink's office again."

"Yeah, EJ, but you were what eight or nine?" That might be one vow you have to break now that you're an adult. Look, I know you've been through a lot of shit; things that would probably give me a few nightmares, too. But, you survived. You've helped people." She paused and looked at him adoringly, which was a rarity. "Let someone help you for a change. You try to take care of everybody. Why do you think I treat you like my baby brother instead of my older one? Somebody needs to worry over you. Emmett idolizes you. Alice is the baby. Your parents are trying to treat you like an adult. So, who else is going to give it to you straight?"

Edward looked at her with his mouth slightly agape.

"Close your mouth. You'll let flies in." He snapped his mouth shut, but then felt compelled to say something to her that he had never really said out loud.

"Rose, I…you know I…I give you a hard time, but I love you. You know that right?"

"I already knew that, idiot. Nobody would put up with my bullshit if they didn't love me and I love you too, Edward. You're one of my favorite people, believe it or not. But, listen to me; we are all going to die."

Edward's head snapped up to meet her eyes. He was confused and didn't know where she was trying to go with that declaration.

"I'll repeat this so you'll understand. We are _all_ going to die one day. You can't stop people you love from leaving you, Edward. You can't stop people you don't love from leaving you. There are some things in this life that are completely out of your control."

He couldn't speak because if he did, he would've sobbed and he didn't want to do that in front of Rosalie, of all people. But, he did nod his understanding. She gave him a brief hug.

"You have to learn to live in the present, Edward, because if you don't, you are going to drive yourself crazy and that would be a really short trip." He rolled his eyes at her, as was his usual custom, and laughed while quickly wiping away an errant tear.

"Now get out of my kitchen, asshole, and you better not have chipped any of those dishes being 'helpful.'" She used air quotes. He smiled and threw the dish towel he was holding at her.

"Gladly, nag. I hate it when you do that air quote thing." He squeezed her hand and walked out.

"That's why I do it. Oh, and Edward."

"What?" He turned around waiting for her usual snarky attack.

"I've got my eyes on you." She did the universal two finger eyeball to eyeball gesture.

He shook his head at her and walked out of the kitchen chuckling and truly considering what she said to him.

****DBW****

The next couple of hours consisted of him crawling around on the floor neighing like a horse and bucking Emily on his back. She was holding onto his hair like it was a horse's mane. By the time 5:00 rolled around he was completely exhausted and his scalp was sore.

"Emie, that was four rides. I'm going to have to save my energy for next time, okay?"

She was giggling on the floor next to him.

"Okay." She kissed him on the cheek. "That's one more ride already. I love you more than chocolate."

He smiled warmly at the words she started repeating when she heard him say them to Esme, "I guess that's real love."

She hopped up and went to find Alice and Rosalie. He was still prostrate on the floor recovering when Emmett walked in the front door.

"I would get up to say hello to you, but I can't move." Emmett got down on the floor besides him and said, "Tell me about it. I'm getting too old for this shit."

He laughed at his brother's _Lethal Weapon_ reference. "I thought you said you were just getting better? Rough training day, huh?"

Emmett said, "I would nod my head, yes, but that would hurt."

Edward and Emmett were pooped on the floor laughing when the girls came back in the room,

"Daddy!" Emily came and jumped right on Emmett's back.

"Ow! Emie, I'm happy to see you too, sweetheart. But, please don't sit on my back right now."

She got up carefully and said, "Sorry, daddy."

He pursed his lips towards her and she kissed him and ran away again. Rosalie rested on the floor next to him and asked for a kiss, while rubbing his back. They kept whispering to each other and kissing sweetly so Edward scrambled up from the floor.

"I'm okay now. Thanks you two. The PDA made my flight response kick in and gave me a second wind."

Emmett gave his brother the finger without taking a break from kissing his wife. Edward shuddered and went and found Alice in the kitchen.

"Mae Mae, I'm meeting Whitlock at grandma's diner at around 6 tonight. I'll drive you home first and then I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. How does that sound.?" He tried to give her the most serious and nonchalant look he knew how.

Her eyes grew big, "You're meeting Jasper at grandma's diner and you'll _tell _me about it tomorrow?" He nodded and shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal and sat down in a stool at the kitchen island.

"Edward Anthony Cullen, I will literally murder you if I don't get to see Jasper before you take me home."

"Wow! Calm down. It's for your own good. We're talking police business. You're too sensitive and emotional to hear such things."

She pounded her tiny fists into his shoulder with powerful punches. Even with him sitting on the stool she had to lift on her tiptoes to punch him in the shoulder.

"Ow! What the hell, Mae Mae? Have you been injecting Wheaties or something? Stop beating on me, elf."

"I _am_ going with you to meet up with Jasper and I don't want to hear your silly chauvinistic talk. You got it?" He held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Fine! I was just trying to help _you_ out. But, noooo, you want to see _Jazz_. Get your stuff ready, Munchkin. We're leaving in five minutes."

Alice was still huffing and muttering to herself as he was walking out of the room chuckling under his breath.

He walked out pumping his fist and muttered to himself,

"Mission Irritate Alice accomplished."

****DBW****

"Where are you two going?" Emmett asked as he saw Edward and Alice geared up to leave. He was now sitting on the couch with Rosalie in his lap.

"We're going out to grandma's diner." Edward was about to hug them good-bye and leave when Emmett's face lit up.

"I want to go. Don't you want to go see Shirley, Rose." She looked at him like he was a little loopy and said,

"First of all, we have to drop Emily off for her slumber party with Tiffany. Secondly, you know what a logistical nightmare it is for you to go anywhere in the city. Lastly, I thought you were going to relax in the hot tub and 'ease your weary old bones.'" She said the last part mocking Emmett's voice.

"We can drop Emie off on the way and it won't be a problem going to the diner. Security is used to it. I can take a bath with you when we get home and we'll have the place all to ourselves." He waggled his eyebrows at her and she smiled lovingly at him.

"Hello! There are other people in the room. Chill on the lovey-dovey talk. I mean, I just ate for God's sake." Edward couldn't resist an opportunity to bother them.

"Shut up, Edward." Rosalie huffed at him. "You need a woman. Pronto!"

"Yeah, I need more stress in my life than I already have. That sounds like a good idea."

Emmett laughed, "Whatever, Monster. We'll meet you at the diner. Mae Mae, you want to roll with us?"

"Yeah. Edward is a stick in the mud. I'll ride with you guys."

Edward mocked offense, "Fine! Go ride with Animal and Ms. Prissy. See if I care. I'll actually be able to play some good music for a change."

They all laughed at him.

"You mean boring music, snob" Rosalie piped up.

"Pfft! You all have no couth." After he hugged and kissed Emily good-bye, he walked out like he was mad, but he was laughing under his breath.

Emmett yelled out, "I don't know what couth is. But, I'm sure I have bucket loads of it!" They were all still laughing when he got in the car.

As he pulled out of the driveway, he had to admit he felt better. He got to see his niece, hang out with family and he did feel rested. The conversation he had with Rose replayed itself in his mind. He decided that he probably did need to talk to somebody again, so he could be his best to do his job.

He pulled out his cell phone to make a couple of calls that he had been dying to make all day,

"Shirley's Diner."

"Grandma, it's Edward."

"Hey, sweetie. What you know good?"

He chuckled at the familiar saying his grandma always used with him, "Nothing new. I'm coming out to see you today."

"Oh! To what do I owe this honor?"

"I'm meeting up with my partner to go over some things, but you know I always want to see my favorite lady. Emmett, Rose, and Ali are coming, too."

She laughed lightly, "You all want cake don't you?"

He laughed, "No. We really want to see you. What's going on with your new hire…what's her name again?"

"Her name is Isabella Swan and she's wonderful! She'll fit right in here."

"Isabella Swan? Did you find her in Witness Protection or something?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Come on grand, her name translates to _beautiful swan_. It sounds like an alias."

"Edward, I don't know how you got to be as paranoid as you are, but she is a good girl and, by the way, she is very beautiful."

"Grandma, this is not some elaborate scheme to set me up with somebody is it?"

"Yeah, Edward, I hired a girl to replace Charlotte based on her compatibility with you. You all are going to stop treating me like I'm senile. I know that."

"I'm sorry, grandma. But, I'm still running a background check."

"Edward Cullen, you will do no such thing. I am telling you not to do it. Do you hear me? You are not too big to put over my knee."

He laughed because he had no problem envisioning his grandmother chasing him with a belt.

"Yes, ma'am. Well, I'll guess I'll meet the ex-con soon then. I'll see you in a little while."

"Bye boy." She tried to sound irritated, but he could still hear the smile in her voice.

He quickly made another call.

"Whitlock."

"Hey man. You're still meeting me at the diner right?"

"Yeah, but it'll be about ten after. I got wrapped up in some paperwork."

"Hmm. That sounds kind of kinky and personal. But, I guess you had to get that off your chest."

"Well, I'll give it to you, Cullen. You're consistent in your assholery. I'll see you there."

They hung up and he relaxed back into his ride to Hyde Park. He clicked on a jazz playlist on his iPod. The eclectic sounds of Courtney Pine filled his car with his mellow tenor saxophone. He was one jazz artist who liked to fuse jazz with hip hop. The track, "Tryin' Times", off the _Underground _album calmed him and helped him focus on the ride. He smiled because if he were in the car with Alice he would surely be listening to Black Eyed Peas or Linkin Park. He liked all music, but he preferred the complexity of jazz and classical.

When he pulled into the parking lot of the place where he spent many a vacation and summer working, a feeling of nostalgia washed over him. When he opened the car door the smell of fresh baked bread and cookies assaulted his senses and made his mouth water. He suddenly had a yearning for a piece of his grandmother's peach cobbler with ice cream.

He looked around the parking lot and noticed Emmett's jeep and Jasper's truck were already there. He couldn't figure out for the life of him how Emmett beat him there. But, the two black sedans that held his security were parked and, by the feel of the hoods, it seemed that they had been there a while.

As he approached the building, he looked in the diner and could see a kid he was helping mentor standing behind the grill, Tyler Crowley, or Six as they called him around his neighborhood. He was a big kid, so people treated him like an adult. But, he was just seventeen and his decision-making skills left a lot to be desired. He had been in a little trouble with fighting and ended up in juvenile detention for ten months. His grandmother put him in her program and he started sending him to the gym to work out with Enrique. He decided to stop and speak to him first.

He walked in and Six immediately left his station to say hello. They gave each other a pound and a shoulder bump. He noticed how much more mature Six had become over the last four months he had been working with him. They talked for a while and he pointed out the new manager. He wiggled his eyebrows at Edward and commented on how pretty she was. But, he said it in a not so gentlemanly manner. Edward scolded him a little and told him to be respectful. He looked down and nodded, but when he looked up he had an impish grin on his face and said,

"She is fine, tho'." Edward chuckled at him and walked over to introduce himself to the new hire. From a distance, he could see she was cute; not anything extraordinary. He supposed the newness of her was causing the buzz around the staff and restaurant. He heard a few comments from some of the college-age guys, too. When he finally faced her and she looked up at him, his heart started beating triple-time. She hard dark thick chestnut brown hair that hung in waves past her shoulders, a heart shaped face and skin so smooth is looked like porcelain. Her cheeks were stained pink from blushing. She had the most adorable Bambi eyes he had ever seen. They were slightly slanted and her long eyelashes curled up at the corners which emphasized the slant of them even more. But, that wasn't the part that got to him. She looked like every victim he had ever found rolled up into one. She was like a beautiful breathing demon from a nightmare. He tried to pull himself together and just say hello, but her scent hit him like a ramming rod. She smelled like a field of wild strawberries. Then, memories of the day his mother left to get him medicine and strawberry ice cream and never came back came flooding into his memory. He could barely look at her anymore. Jessica Stanley introduced them and he knew he was being weird, but he had to get away so, he quickly ordered some coffee and escaped to his family.

But, there was no escaping this haunting woman. His grandmother called over the living nightmare to the booth where they were sitting. Then, she proceeded to ask him if he was gay and everyone, especially Emmett, got a good chuckle out of that one. The big kicker was Jasper's flirtation with her. He wanted to strangle him. His sister was sitting right there. But, she didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, she was bubbling over about how they were going to be best friends. He couldn't take it anymore so he jumped up to announce he was leaving. Jasper looked at him like he had lost his mind because they hadn't even talked about the cases, yet. He couldn't worry about that. He had to get away from this woman and get himself together.

As soon as his escape was imminent, his grandmother asked him to stay and look at something _with Isabella_. He was muttered asking himself why he just didn't stay home that day, but he dutifully followed his grandmother to her apartment. He tried his best to stay as far away from Isabella as possible without making her feel self-conscious. But, when she asked him if she smelled bad he knew he had to stop acting that way. She hadn't done anything to deserve to be treated like a pariah by him.

When his grandmother showed him the video surveillance and he saw the message written on this delivery guy's hat, he knew instinctively that Isabella Swan is who he was talking about when he said he had someone on his radar. He finally really took a good look at her after he pounded his fist into the desk. She was so tiny. She was probably twenty-five or twenty-six years old, 5' 2", maybe 115 pounds. She seemed like a sweet person with her whole life ahead of her. He would not fail her. She was going to live.

To make matters worse his grandmother was bucking heads with him over her protection. Didn't she realize, of all people, that he could not lose one more person he loved, if there was anything in his power he could do to prevent it. He would restrain her if he had to. Rose's words from earlier in the day washed over him and he almost fell from the truth of them. He decided to forget about that and focus on what he could do.

Then, as if the night couldn't get any worse, Jasper shows up at his grandmother's apartment _with Alice_. If it weren't for the fact that he was right about her being safer with them than alone, he would've had a fight with his partner that night. But, he had to give it to him, Jasper didn't back down and he was right that Alice could wear you down to the point where you would give her anything she wanted just to get her to stop talking.

That's when the real weirdness started. She touched him. It was brief, but it sent a jolt of electricity through his body right to places that hadn't been used…well, except by himself sadly, since he and Tanya broke up. He looked at his hand and her little bitty one trying to figure out what was going on. There was no carpet anywhere around to drag his feet on. He cautiously let her do whatever it is she was doing with his hair. It felt good. She massaged his scalp that was sore from his day with his niece and he felt relaxed for the first time in a long time. The only other women who massaged his scalp that way was his biological mother and his hairdresser. Before he knew it, he practically had his head buried in her chest, so he pulled himself together and showed her what he saw on the surveillance. He couldn't seem to stop touching her hand though and she didn't seem to mind. He convinced himself that she needed his touch for reassurance.

As the night went on, he was becoming more deeply drawn to her. When she yawned he wanted to put her to bed. When she shivered he wanted to put a blanket over her. He wanted to be the one to make her feel better. He had known her for a grand total of four hours and he was completely devoted to her well-being for reasons he really couldn't explain. The only thing he could figure is that she reminded him of everything that was good in his life in certain ways…scalp massages, strawberries, and the feeling of being more alive than he had felt in a long time, but simultaneously relaxed. It was an extraordinary state to be in and very confusing.

He had to maintain some semblance of professionalism. Her life was in danger. But, he couldn't resist touching her blushing cheek. He hadn't seen a woman blush in a long time. He didn't know how he ever thought she was just cute. She was exquisite.

Finding out where he knew her name from was just odd. Her father had trained his father. They had probably even met before when they were kids. When Alistair mentioned destiny he thought that he couldn't think of a more appropriate word. It's like fate threw this fragile woman in this killer's path so, that they could meet and he could finally stop him. That terrified him. She was fate's bait and he had no physical person to threaten and demand she be released until he found this man.

When Angela and Amanda showed up he was more curious about them than anything. Angela was attractive. She was curvy with auburn hair like his, but straighter and less wavy. She spoke with a Spanish accent. He asked her how she ended up with a name like Weber and she was obviously a Latina. She told him her father is English, but her mother is Puerto Rican. They talked about Amanda's school in Naperville and the arrangements Bella and she make to keep watch over her all day. Then, the strangest thing happened. Little Amanda, who had been watching him curiously and clutching on to her cape wielding teddy bear while her oatmeal raisin cookies were baking asked,

"Are you an angel?" He blinked at her a few times. She was a beautiful little girl, with skin about his complexion and stark blue doe eyes and long thick chestnut hair like Isabella's. He smiled at her and said,

"Nope. I'm just a man." She looked at him skeptically and then casually climbed into his lap.

Angela looked a little flabbergasted, but laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

"What's your teddy's name?"

"Davie." She looked at him and touched his cheek. "You can play with him if you want."

He chuckled, "I had a bear like Davie named Bobo when I was around your age. I think he would be jealous if I played with Davie."

She said, "No he won't, silly. All teddy bears know each other and Bobo would know that Davie likes you as a grown-up. He wouldn't be jealous. He liked you when you were a boy."

Edward really didn't know what to say to that. He was stumped. Eric bringing the cookies over ended the teddy bear debate. She ate two cookies and on her third, she fell asleep against his chest. Angela offered to hold her, but he didn't want to wake her.

They talked about the situation and what Edward and the police could do about keeping Bella safe. He ran the idea that he had by Angela about them staying at his grandmother's apartment and she seemed fine with it as long as it was okay with everyone else. Armed with the knowledge that he had Isabella's best friend's support, he felt he could approach her about staying there until her building was secure to his liking.

When they got back upstairs he was glad to see everyone protecting his girls like he would have. He carried Amanda upstairs with Bella in front of him. He was trying really hard not to stare at her ass, especially while he was holding the baby. It just felt wrong. But, he had noticed earlier that her curves in those jeans were a beautiful thing. He was a curves man and she was curvy for such a tiny woman. He was also happy that she wasn't afraid to eat. He didn't know how many more women he could deal with that picked at their food like they were afraid of it. The way she moaned and her eyes rolled into the back of her head when she was eating made his body react in ways that he couldn't even think about at that moment. He focused on keeping Amanda asleep and putting her to bed to keep his thoughts out of the gutter.

He sat with her in the spare bedroom, which probably wasn't the brightest idea since he was trying to keep his mind off of her body, but he managed to talk to her about his plans and she agreed to stay. He threw in casually that he was staying, too, hoping to the high heavens that she wouldn't object. Thankfully, she didn't so he offered her something to sleep in. Then images of her half-naked, in his clothes in bed smelling like strawberries came flooding threw his mind and his body immediately reacted. He was glad he chose to wear a button-down shirt. He felt ridiculous, like he was a seventeen year-old kid and not the thirty-one year old man talking to the possible victim of a serial killer. As soon as he thought of that, his body deflated. He reached out and touched her face. She was blushing again. He didn't know why she was blushing that time, but it was lovely. Her sister called out to her, so he left to let her take care of her. He was so curious about why she was taking care of her sister, why she was alone and why she seemed so comfortable with him at times but entirely uncomfortable at other times. He needed to know why she blushed so much.

A woman in her mid-twenties had to have some life experience. She couldn't be completely innocent. At least, he didn't think it was possible. He went into his grandmother's office/bedroom to sort things out in his head. He decided that there was nothing wrong with having a friendship with this woman and her sister. He just couldn't let it go any further than that. He had to tame his body and be the professional that he was trained to be. However, when he walked out and saw this woman hugging his grandmother like she was her lifeline, all pretense of a detached platonic friendship flew out the window. He wanted her. He wanted to know all there was to know about her. But, for now he would be her protector.

When he whispered in her ear that he wouldn't let her fall…he meant he would _never_ let her fall, as long as he was alive.


	6. Chapter 6

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**Your reviews are so encouraging! Thanks for being patient with me. I love the fact that people are speculating about what's going to happen next. I am really having fun. I hope you are, too. **_

_******DBW******_

Chapter 6 – Broken Promises

Everyone was gone for the evening and Bella was left standing against Edward with her hand in his. The words he whispered in her ear reverberated through her body like a pulse.

"_Don't worry, Isabella. I won't let you fall." _

She finally said, "Don't make promises you can't keep. I fall a lot. You would have to quit your job."

He laughed softly, "That's okay. I was thinking about early retirement anyway."

With every heartbeat her body was filled with the safety and warmth of his words and his touch. They stood there long after Shirley left practically swaying together until Angela spoke up.

"Are you two waiting for a delivery or something?"

They both snapped out of the trance they seemed to be in and separated from each other. As soon as he let go of her hand and walked away, she felt cold and her chest started to ache. She knew she was in serious trouble. She had to be away from him during the day. She had work. She had to take care of Amanda and she had other responsibilities that might even take her out of town.

She was standing there pondering all of these new feelings and worries when Angela spoke up again.

"Bella, are you okay? We were just about to discuss the sleeping arrangements." Edward was looking at her with his back turned to Angela who was still sitting on the couch. Angela looked at him and back at Bella and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at her. She blushed…again. She hated the way her face couldn't hide anything she was feeling.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I was just thinking about that myself."

"Isabella, I was thinking I could stay down here on the couch and Angela can have my grandmother's bed. I'm kind of a night owl anyway, so it really doesn't matter where I sleep. You can have the other guestroom upstairs and Amanda can have my room." Edward looked at Bella in anticipation.

"No way! That room is way too big for just Amanda. She and I will take the smaller room and you can have your room. Plus, Angela and I have to get up early in the mornings to go to work and get Manda ready for school. We wouldn't have to disturb you if you could sleep in your own space."

Angela spoke up again, "I have a better idea. Let Amanda stay with me down here since you leave much earlier than either of us and I'm the one that gets her ready for school in the mornings now. Then, you won't disturb her and I can sleep past the butt-crack of dawn."

Bella let out a guffaw and nodded at her friend while watching Edward to see what he thought of that idea. He looked up as though his mind was made up,

"Okay. That makes sense. I'd feel better if I were closer to you anyway, Isabella."

The room grew completely quiet and Bella and Angela were staring at him. He looked completely mortified by what he said. It was him that blushed this time.

"What I mean is I would feel like I could protect you better if we were on the same floor."

Bella looked down and said quietly, "I think I know what you meant." She berated herself internally,

_Of course he doesn't want to be by me for any other reason. He probably thinks I'm a complete idiot that can't even think up a proper sleeping arrangement without input_.

Edward cleared his throat and said, "Well, I have a few things I want to pull out for you ladies to be comfortable and for in the morning. I'll carry Amanda down here, since you said she's such a heavy sleeper; right Isabella?"

She nodded her agreement. "She won't wake up. Trust me."

They watched him walk away and when Bella turned to look at Angela she was squealing quietly and jumping up and down…squealing.

Bella laughed and shook her head at her friend who finally spoke a coherent sentence,

"Come here and tell me everything. How in the world did you meet him? Is he single? _He is beautiful_. He's a little too pretty for my taste, but you like pretty boys. I loooove the way he says your full name. He says it like you're a queen, or something. I noticed you didn't correct him, like you usually do." She was grinning so widely it looked like her face was going to split in two.

"Angela is that all you can think about? I mean, we're being kept in protective custody because a serial killer picked me as his next target." She felt bad for changing the subject that way, but she didn't want to talk about her ridiculous crush she had on a man she met only a few hours ago.

"Oh yeah, that's right. Well, I think you're pretty safe with him. You heard what he said. He wants to be _near_ you so he can _protect_ you." She was clapping her hands and giggling like she was a teenager.

"Angela, he meant that in the most professional way possible. Do you really think someone that looks like that would want me?"

Angela's face turned angry so quickly Bella leaned back a little, "Are you kidding me, Bella? You're beautiful! When are you going to see yourself like everyone else does? That man couldn't keep his eyes off you."

She wanted to change the subject so she quickly turned the tables, "Speaking of not being able to keep their eyes off of someone, what did you think of Ben?"

Angela blushed and looked down at her hands, "Now _he_ is my type. Good lord! Did you see his butt? You could crush walnuts with that thing and I could get lost in those adorable puppy-dog eyes. He was sooo nice and polite wasn't he? Did you see how he shook my hand so gently like he was scared to break me?" She was swooning and looking off into space and Bella felt like the subject of Edward was safely dropped. Then, Angela snapped out of it.

"You really think you're slick, subject-changer. I didn't forget about you, missy."

Suddenly, Angela looked away like she was ashamed and Bella touched her arm asking her what was wrong.

"This morning you said to me that you were just the Night Stalker's type and I blew it off like you were worried over nothing, which you usually are, by the way. I'm sorry I didn't take what you said more seriously. Out of all the women in this city I never thought he would single you out. If anything happened to you or Amanda, I would just die." Bella leaned forward, hugged her friend and wiped a few tears away that had fallen.

"You don't waste any time worrying about me. Like you said, I'm in good hands. We'll be fine. This maniac doesn't stand a chance." On the surface, she was trying to assure Angela, but she was also trying to convince herself. As if on cue, Edward came back into the room with a sleeping Amanda in his arms. He was holding Davie in one hand as though he really understood how important he was to Amanda. Bella couldn't get a grasp on this enigma of a man. He could be so gentle one minute and then be so full of fury the next. He nodded at Angela and indicated he was putting Amanda to bed in the room that would be hers. She smiled and waved him off. Bella jumped up to follow him to make sure everything was okay.

He, once again, gently placed Amanda in the bed and tucked her in like she was the filling in a burrito. Bella blurted out the questions she had wanted to ask all night,

"Isn't your wife or girlfriend going to miss you tonight? You seem like a man with a family and kids. Everybody told me you were single. But, I thought I would ask you directly; not that it's any of my business. I don't even know why everyone was volunteering the information." She slapped herself in the forehead internally.

_Smooth Bella._

He looked at her a little startled at the word vomit, initially, but he finally answered.

"No. I'm not married and I'm not dating anyone right now. Nobody's waiting for me." There was a slightly uncomfortable silence as Bella stared at him wondering how in the world this man did not have women beating down his door to be with him.

"Uhmm…I have a niece about Amanda's age. I used to help take care of her a lot when my sister-in-law, Rosalie, went back to work. You met her. She's the blond one that barely spoke." Bella nodded remembering the way she was scrutinized by the beautiful woman. "By the way, I'm sorry about her. She's a little stand-offish with new people." Bella scoffed at the term 'a little.' She could've used her to cool her building with that chill.

"Kids seem to gravitate towards me for some reason. I guess I'm pretty good with them. At least, that's what I've been told by my brother and sister-in-law." He looked down timidly like he was embarrassed to be talking about this subject. Bella felt a need to reassure him,

"Well, I think she's right. Like I was telling you before, Amanda isn't around many men and when she is, she's really shy. But, she seems to be really comfortable with you. It's kind of nice to see, actually."

He smiled like he was proud of himself for being liked by Amanda and Bella wanted to hug him so badly, but she restrained herself. He finally said with a boyish grin,

"Well, I guess I'm good for something. Let's let her sleep, okay?" He reached out for her hand and she gave it to him with no hesitation. The electricity was still there, but it seemed that they were getting used to it because neither of them jumped this time.

They walked towards the door holding hands. But, when he got to the threshold he let go and put his hand securely on the small of her back. He closed the door quietly, leaned down and whispered,

"I'm gonna lock up around here and go down to the diner to talk to a couple of the guys on duty. You try to get some sleep. I know you have to get up early." Bella closed her eyes, inhaled his scent and quietly said, "Okay." His eyes were a soft green and he smiled adoringly at her. He started to walk towards the front door, stopped and said,

"By the way, ladies, I left towels, extra toothbrushes, some shower gels, and extra bars of soap for you. Don't be shy. Make yourselves at home."

Angela and Bella said in unison, "Okay." They sounded like a couple of love-struck teenagers. Bella watched him go through the apartment turning on alarms and securing windows. He finally said he'd be back soon, gave Bella one last look like he was memorizing her and left locking the front door's three deadbolts. Bella felt foolish, but she actually felt like a piece of her heart walked out of that door.

****DBW****

It was 11:15 by the time Bella was showered finally ready to go to bed. She took some time to look around the guest room. There was a soft looking chaise in the corner that was big enough to sleep in. There were a few pictures of Edward with family and graduation pictures at all levels from junior high to university of all of Shirley's family. It gave her a good feeling because Shirley was obviously proud of her grandchildren.

There was a docking station for an iPod and a speaker system that she couldn't imagine anyone using when Shirley was home. There was one picture that literally took her breath away. It was Edward with a stunningly attractive woman who looked to be a cheerleader for the Bear's in a loving embrace with him. He was looking at her smiling and she was smiling a Colgate smile at the camera. She actually had her leg kicked up in the back, like women did in old movies. She scoured the picture looking any indication of a date, but she couldn't find one. Edward told her he wasn't with anyone. Maybe she was a relative. In her heart, she knew she wasn't. Maybe he lied.

She sat down on the bed and let the insecurity wash over her. She knew he was too good to be true. She thought about the situation she was in and determined that she didn't care. If he was there with her, she was going to enjoy his company. She didn't have to be physically intimate with him to do that. She could sleep near him, in his shirts, and spend as much time with him as possible without being 'the other woman.'

Resolute in this newfound decision, she picked up another one of his old football jerseys that he left on her bed. She smelled it first and it smelled like laundry detergent, potpourri and Edward. She put it on and hugged herself thinking of the way he held her hand that day, the way he touched the small of her back and the way he cared for Amanda and Angela. She hand-washed some things and put them in the dryer still thinking about being near Edward for however long it takes to solve this case. She was smiling as she used a pair of steps that were by the bed to climb in. Ben was right. The bed was heaven! It was extremely comfortable. She sunk into the mattress, snuggled under the duvet and pretended she belonged there wrapped up in the warmth of it and surrounded by Edward's smell. Part of her knew her thinking was pathetic, but she couldn't find it within herself to care.

The alarm on her phone sounded at 3:45 a.m. the next morning. She woke up to turn it off and rolled back over to sleep. Slowly her brain started to really wake up and she jumped up startled. She didn't know where she was. Finally, she began to remember that she was being kept at her boss' apartment because she was being targeted by a serial killer. She started to panic as the reality of it all sunk in. She looked around the dark room and jumped because she saw someone sleeping in the chaise. When her eyes adjusted she realized it was Edward.

She climbed out of the bed and walked towards him. He had on sleeping pants and a t-shirt that had ridden up his stomach. She could see the definition of it and her eyes traveled up to his chest that was clearly defined in the thin t-shirt. He had tribal tattoos on both biceps. He was muscular, but not like a body builder. He was actually built like a boxer; strong in the arms and lean in the legs…a perfect "T". His hair was wild and splayed out over the back of the lounger. She let her eyes travel below his stomach and she could see his happy trail and the "V" formation of his hips where his pants had slid down slightly. Her eyes finally looked to where his happy trail led and, although he was sound asleep, there were big parts of him that were wide awake...big.

She felt completely embarrassed that she was witnessing something only an intimate partner should see. She quickly looked away and looked at his face. He looked like a little boy in his sleep. His full lips were the shape of a perfectly full pout. His eyelashes were so long that they curled up at the ends and landed just above his cheekbones. She quickly picked up the extra comforter on the end of the bed and put it over him. She didn't know why he was there and she should have been freaked out by it, but oddly, she felt better knowing he had been there while she slept. She leaned in and kissed his forehead softly. He turned over in the chaise, reached out and in a flash had her underneath him, his head resting between her breasts and his hands buried in her hair.

She was speechless; her senses were overwhelmed and she didn't really know what to do. She was completely surrounded by his warmth and his sweet smell with his morning wood pressed against the inside of her thigh. Her traitorous body rubbed against him like a cat and he moaned lightly. She was trying to disentangle herself without waking him and he started talking, but she could see he was still sleep.

"_Mine. _

_Get away. _Was that a growl?

_You can't have her."_ His hands left her hair and tightened around her torso. He started to whimper a little and his brow furrowed. She realized he was having a nightmare and she didn't know if she should wake him, or not. Finally, she decided to do for him what she did for Amanda when she had a bad dream. She stroked his hair and hummed to him, whispering everything is going to be okay. After about five minutes he started to smile and mumbled,

"_You're safe with me." _

He started to snore slightly and he loosened his grip enough for her to ease her way off the lounge. He sighed and turned over hugging his pillow like it was a person. She eased into the bathroom and slid down the door after she closed it. She could still smell him and feel him on her body. After a few minutes, she calmed down enough to remember she didn't have much time to get ready for work. She figured he must have been dreaming about the woman in that picture. She felt completely embarrassed that she enjoyed being his substitute woman for the few minutes he had her captured underneath him.

The shower had a massaging shower-head. She took full advantage of the soothing feeling of the hot water beating down on her body. She finally had to add more cold because all the heat reminded her of the predicament she was in a few moments before and if she didn't get out she would end up doing something about the aroused state her body was in. That was not acceptable in her boss' apartment is what she kept telling her body. After she dried off and wrapped a towel around her hair. She went to the laundry closet to get the underwear and bra she hand-washed and threw in the dryer the night before. She quickly went back into the bathroom keeping on Edward's Jersey and putting her jeans on. She wondered when they were going to get some clothes from her place. She released her hair from the towel and combed through the tangles letting it air dry. She had washed her hair with his black vanilla herbal shampoo. Her hair smelled delicious, if she had to say so herself.

Bella quietly walked back into her room not wanting to wake Edward. She straightened up the bed the best she could and crept out. By the time she made it downstairs, it was 4:20. She decided that she would go down to the diner early and bring breakfast up for everybody when it was closer to a reasonable hour. She quietly looked in on Angela and Amanda. Amanda was sleeping with her bottom up in the air again, except this time she had her right arm slung over Angela's face. It was amazing that in a bed that big, her sister found a way to crowd Angela. She snickered and went over to reposition Amanda so Angela could get some restful sleep and not be suffocated. She left the room smiling at two of her favorite people. Then her thoughts went to Edward again wondering why he was having nightmares about his girlfriend, if her assumption was right.

She considered the fact that they hadn't discussed whether it was okay for her to use the outside entrance to go to work. To be on the safe side, she decided to take the elevator down. She walked to the elevator and put her key in the slot like Shirley had showed her and stepped in trying to be as quiet as she could pressing the "D" button for the diner and waiting for the elevator to take her down. It was surprising to her that it wasn't noisier. She was expecting a rickety elevator whose mechanisms could be heard miles away. However, it was a smooth and quiet ride down. She stepped off the elevator in the kitchen area of the pastry shop where the dishes were washed. She diligently closed the door to the elevator, locked it and stepped deeper into the dark shop that was eerie and filled with shadows. Every corner looked like someone could be hiding in it; however, she didn't want to turn on the lights to the pastry shop too early. So, she practically ran to the French doors that led to the diner and unlocked them, breathing easier when she stepped into the fluorescent lighting. She quickly locked the doors again in case one of the shadows was a real person.

Eric looked up at her confused, but smiled anyway. There were two officers sitting at the counter that turned to look at her after they looked at their watches and nodded. She saw two of the burly guys from the security team sitting at a booth towards the back of the diner. They nodded at her, as well. There were sprinkles of late night customers here and there, but business was relatively slow. Eric's eyes went to the French doors behind her and looked back, too. There was a man standing there. She jumped and let out a small scream. The officers and the security that were in the diner all stood up poised for action. When they realized it was Edward they all calmed down and she scurried over to the door to let him in. He had on a gray hoodie with the same sleeping pants and t-shirt on she left him in. He walked in and looked her over like he was checking for damage. She noticed he had on his shoulder holster.

"Isabella, why are you down here so early? I thought you didn't have to start until five."

He was looking at her so intensely that she stammered a little, "I-I wanted to shadow Eric a little before I started opening the pastry shop. You were sleeping so soundly I didn't want to wake you." She didn't want to tell him about what happened because she knew it would embarrass him.

He looked down and pulled her to the side so they could talk a little more privately, "Yeah, about that…I want to apologize. I must've scared you when you woke up. In the night I heard you talking in your sleep and you seemed…restless. But, when I walked in you seemed to calm down. So, I stayed. I don't usually sleep so deeply…"

He seemed lost for words and Bella touched his arm telling him with the gesture that everything is okay.

"Edward, I have to admit I was startled when I woke up in the dark and saw someone sleeping in the chair. But, when I saw it was you, I felt…safe. You don't have to apologize."

He visibly relaxed and nodded.

"I'm gonna go up and take a shower and get dressed. But, I'll be back down in about thirty minutes or so." He started to walk away, but then stopped and turned around.

"Isabella, please don't come down here again alone. Even if I'm asleep, wake me up. That's why I'm here." She nodded her understanding while she was looking down.

"I'm sorry, Edward. Of course that's why you're here…with us." He lifted her chin up and searched out her eyes.

"Hey, don't be sorry. I'm just relieved you're here. I went a little crazy when I didn't see you there when I woke up." He ran his hand through his hair and let out a breath and smiled warmly at her. "No harm. No foul." She smiled at him and he grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"I'll be back, shortly." She watched him walk away until she couldn't see him anymore. When she turned back around, Eric and the two officers were smirking at her. She blushed profusely and walked up to Eric.

"I came in early so I could watch what you do this shift. Do you mind?"

He looked at her still smiling, "A beautiful lady following me around first thing in the morning is my idea of paradise."

She laughed, "Eric, I'm pretty sure the employee handbook explains in detail what sexual harassment is."

He scoffed at her, "Freakin' lawyers and politicians. It should be legal to hunt them. See, I'm not harassing you sexually. I'm persistently charming you. There's a huge difference. Look it up. The difference is explained in detail in the Illinois Criminal Code and Procedure books."

She laughed loudly, "Yeah, I'll look that up in my imaginary book when I get home. Aren't you in law school, Eric?"

"Yeah, but I'm not a lawyer, yet. So, I can still have a healthy disdain for them. Catch me this time next year and we'll talk then." He winked at her and started showing her what he does to prepare for her and Mike's arrival. He introduced her to one of the night cooks and the overnight wait staff.

Eric was really a hard worker and had an excellent rapport with the staff and the customers. There were customers who apparently showed up at that time of morning just to talk to him. She really enjoyed his company for the little time they worked together.

"So, Bella, tell me where you're from?"

"I was born in a little town called Forks in Washington State. But, I've lived in Seattle and Phoenix. I've been in Chicago for five years this year."

He stood there looking at her with a blank expression. She didn't really know what was wrong with him until he started talking again,

"Bella, did you just say you're from a town called Forks?"

She nodded yes waiting to find out what the big deal was and he burst out laughing.

"You're a restaurant manager from a town named after an eating utensil. It's like you didn't have a choice in what to do for a living. That's priceless."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Sure, sure. I've never heard that one before."

For the next ten or fifteen minutes they worked and laughed together. He showed her what paperwork he does to close out his shift and how to retrieve messages in case someone calls off. He showed her how to access the phone lists and the work schedules on the computer all of the managers shared. All in all, she was really glad she worked with him.

"Soooo, Cullen huh?" He smiled at her.

She swallowed hard, "Excuse me?"

"The name on the back of the jersey you're wearing." He smiled even wider at her.

She tried not to blush, but there was no stopping it, "Yeah, I…He…let me borrow his shirt."

Eric laughed at her embarrassment. "Well, from what I hear he's very good at what he does." She looked at him wondering what exactly he was talking about and how much he knew.

"I know something happened yesterday. I know you're staying at Shirley's apartment and your friend and your daughter are here. I know there are extra police here and security." He looked completely somber and a little frightened for the first time since she met him. "Whatever it is, it must be pretty serious." He stood there keenly waiting for an explanation for what he had witnessed. She didn't know how much she could tell him, or if anyone was going to fill the staff in. So, she told him what she could to get the smiling easy-going Eric back.

"Daughter? No. I don't have any children. That was my baby sister, Amanda, and my best friend Angela. Shirley invited us for dinner. It was kind of a 'welcome to the family' type thing. Everything's fine. Edward is just really protective of his grandma and he got a scare and we just happened to be there when it happened, so he's being extra cautious." She was surprised at how easily that half-truth came out of her mouth. She was a horrible liar.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at her intensely. She squirmed a little under his stare, but didn't break it. He nodded.

"You would be great as a trial lawyer. You are a totally believable liar, except for that little squirmy thing you did there at the end." He smiled at her and she laughed and hit him with a towel.

"I'm going to change for work. I'll be in the pastry shop if you need me."

He pouted, "Awww, no more pretty lady time? Oh well, I'll have to daydream about you then." She laughed at him and shook her head. She really liked him.

****DBW****

When Bella came out of the employee locker room Charlotte and Mike were in the pastry shop talking, cleaning tables and putting more sugar packets in the containers on the tables. They didn't see her walk in and she didn't want to scare anyone, so she decided to just warn them that she was there. She knocked lightly on the counter and they looked up startled.

"Good morning, you two. I didn't want to scare you." She chuckled. "I couldn't think of any other way to announce that I'm already here without doing just that."

Mike volunteered, "Eric told us you were here before he left. We were expecting you. That's why sugar packets aren't scattered all over the floor and I didn't scream like a girl just now."

Bella and Charlotte both laughed loudly until Charlotte said,

"Now, how exactly does a girl scream? Can you demonstrate that for us, please?"

He looked at her like she was insane, "I don't think so. Knowing you, Charlotte, you would record that on your phone and stick it on YouTube. Also, Bella here needs to feel she's working with a manly man. I can't show my feminine side, yet."

Charlotte laughed hard again and Bella just shook her head, "You know me so well, Mike, because I was just about to pull out my cell phone and record it, if you decided to demonstrate."

"Well, now that you're out here Bella, I can go and get started in the diner. If you two need me, just holler, but not like girls…you know what I mean." He quickly walked away.

Charlotte went right on working and Bella was still laughing at Mike as she proceeded to pull out her notebook and follow the checklist she created the day before. She started turning on the ovens, the coffee machines and she pulled out the huge cooling and receiving racks for the breads and the cookies. She became lost in the business of the job when she felt electricity in the air that wasn't coming from the convection ovens.

She turned around and what she saw made her drop her notebook. She awkwardly bent down to pick it up and walked to the counter in the front of the shop. Edward was back, but he looked much different.

He walked towards the counter after greeting Charlotte and giving her a hug. He had on a charcoal gray Armani suit with a deep cranberry button down silk shirt and matching tie that was held down by a gold tie clip. He was carrying his jacket, and he neatly laid it on the stool at the counter. His gold detective shield was tacked onto his black Italian leather belt. He had on gold cuff links and gold-rimmed glasses that were tiny and had a tint of rose to them. He was reading some documents that she could have cared less about, at the moment, because was studying him. His hair was neatly arranged and hung to his shoulders. He had that same cocoa butter scent and she could smell his aftershave. He had shaved, but he left a little goatee around his pouty lips. She didn't know how long she stood there staring at him, but when she realized she had been practically drooling, she looked at Charlotte standing behind him and Charlotte mouthed back to her,

"_Damn!"_ She winked at Bella, wiggled her eyebrows and kept working.

Edward finally looked up at Bella and back at Charlotte with a look of panic on his face.

"Isabella, are you okay?" He looked out the window and looked down the street both ways. He opened the front door and stepped out." While he was trying to understand the look on Bella's face, she continued to ogle him. He was wearing shiny black Stacy Adam shoes and a Glock on a belt holster right in the small of his back.

She reiterated Charlotte's declaration to herself while he was looking away. He came back in and took off his glasses.

"Did you see anybody at the door?" He was staring into her eyes as though he didn't realize he was some type of god on earth.

"Hmmmmm?" Was all Bella could manage to say.

He quickly got up and walked around the counter and gently grabbed her elbow.

"Isabella, come sit down. It must be finally hitting you what happened yesterday." He guided her to a counter stool and went behind the counter to fix her a cup of coffee. He came back with the coffee and pushed the creamers and sugars in front of her.

"Do you want me to put the cream and sugar in it for you? He grabbed her hand and waited for her to answer. She finally found her voice and said the first thing that came to her mind,

"No. I can do it. I don't think I got enough sleep last night."

Suddenly, he blushed slightly and said,

"No. I don't think you did. Did you know you talk in your sleep?" He smiled gently at her.

She looked down mortified and said, "Yes. I've been teased about it my whole life." Her eyes widened to size of saucers and she blurted out frantically,

"Oh my god! What did I say?"

He chuckled, "Nothing incriminating. Just drink your coffee. Maybe I can talk to grandma about letting you go home early."

She jumped up, "No! This is only my second day. As my dad used to say, one monkey don't stop any show'."

He looked at her curiously with a smile on his face.

She thought to herself,

_Did I just say, one monkey don't stop no show, like the dork I am? _ Then she answered herself,

_Yes, you did just say that, dork._

He finally spoke up, "My dad used to say that, too…my biological dad." She was going to apologize for saying something that reminded him of his father, but he looked so happy to remember that she changed her mind.

"So, why are you so…?"

Words were jumping into her mind,

_Sexy?_

_Edible?_

_Gorgeous?_

He finished her sentence for her, "…suited up?"

"Uhhh, yeah."

"I have to do a couple of television interviews with Alistair this morning and a press conference later this afternoon with my Captain. Thanks to you we have a definitive sketch of the Night Stalker and we were able to get a reasonably good image of him from the surveillance video that matches your description perfectly." He slid two of the papers he had been holding earlier toward her and she the sketch and the grainy video image. But, he was right. They did match pretty well.

"Well, that's good news right?" She beamed at him.

"Yes and no." He frowned. "He wanted us to have this for some reason. It worries me to consider why. But, maybe we can catch him before we find out." He looked back at her and gently stroked her cheek. "But, you don't have anything to worry about. The guys that are with you today are the best and I'll be back here around 4p.m. They're keeping a close eye on you, or they'll have me to answer to." A dark look passed over his eyes, "Let's just say they don't want that."

She gulped a little, but smiled at him with complete trust in what he was saying.

He looked at this watch, "I'm gonna be rolling out to try to beat rush hour traffic. By the way, Ben is coming by." He smiled at her. "He likes your friend doesn't he?"

She nodded and laughed. "He couldn't even speak to her until I introduced them."

He smiled a devilish grin, "I'll be sure to give him shit about it somehow. Thanks for filling me in." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Did you eat?" She realized he seemed frazzled that morning. She had noticed in her life that men seem less frazzled when they eat.

He nodded, "I scrambled up some eggs. I had bacon and toast. I tried to feed Angela, but she muttered something about 'the butt-crack of dawn' and was rambling in Spanish about crazy people being up when everyone else is sleep. She's not a morning person, is she?"

Bella laughed and said, "Absolutely not. I hope she didn't scare you too badly. I'm glad you understand Spanish. I never know what she's saying and I have a feeling she's saying not too good things about me." She laughed in a way that made her shoulders shake.

He chuckled, "Nah. It wasn't that bad."

"You know I can make you breakfast in the mornings, since I'm already in a kitchen." She did the Vanna White wave around the pastry shop and diner. "It's been said that I'm a pretty good cook and it can be payback for you looking out for us."

He smiled at her like she had just offered to give him a million dollars. "Maybe I'll take you up on that one morning." She smiled and he trailed his finger down her cheek and she immediately began to blush. He started chuckling at her and, if she wasn't mistaken, she heard him mutter to himself,

"So adorable."

He started to walk towards the door, but stopped suddenly remembering something, "Ben is taking Angela by your place to get some clothes for you all. If you have any special requests, let her know before noon, okay?" She nodded and he started walking, but stopped and looked back at her again, "Do you want me to bring anything back for you?"

She thought to herself,

_Just you. _Thoughts of him holding her, his hardness, his heat and saying 'mine' flooded her brain and body, although she was pretty sure he was talking about someone else.

What she actually said was, "No. I'm fine. Go do what you do."

He smiled brightly at her, "Thanks to you I can do a little more than normal." He winked at her and walked out and she ran to the window watching him drive away in a silver Volvo like a puppy that's left alone when her owner leaves. There was no mistaking the truth of that thought. He so owned her.

She felt a presence behind her and turned around quickly and Charlotte was giggling,

"He's gone, girl. He's gone!" Charlotte shook her shoulder playfully like she was trying to wake her up.

Bella couldn't help but laugh although she was quite embarrassed to be caught staring after his car that was long gone.

She zapped her with a towel, "So, you're crushing on him, huh?"

Bella looked down, "I…He….Yes." She couldn't even lie about it anymore.

"I don't blame you and a lot of women do." She lifted Bella's chin and looked her in the eyes, "But, I think the feeling's mutual, in your case." She smiled warmly at Bella.

"Now, get to work, slacker." Bella closed her mouth from the shock of Charlotte's statement and quickly complied. They worked together until they opened the shop for business at 6:30 a.m. on the dot.

****DBW****

The words, "…_I think the feeling's mutual, in your case_," were swirling around in her head all day. She wanted to ask Charlotte about the woman in the picture, since she said he was like a brother to her. She was glad she told Charlotte about her crush because she didn't have to think of some elaborate way to ask about it. However, the day was so busy she barely had time to sit down. Shirley wasn't kidding when she said to wear comfortable shoes. On top of the everyday business, they had two huge catering orders to prepare for two lunch events. Bella watched as Charlotte supervised everything with a huge smile on her face and she understood why _Sixteen_ wanted her. She was an amazing manager. She had a positive attitude, she was organized, prepared, and willing to compromise and adjust when necessary.

Angela came down twice that day. She was really deserving of her name. She had somehow managed to get the bus company to come by the diner and pick up Amanda on short notice. Bella fed Amanda and Angela some breakfast and hugged her sister before she ran to get on her school bus at 7a.m., escorted by the private security Emmett provided. Angela grunted good-bye and came back later at around 11:30 dressed for work, with a better disposition and with Ben following closely behind her. He smiled hugely at Bella and walked around the counter to give her another bear hug. Angela smiled warmly at him, gave Bella a peck on the cheek and they left after Bella gave her a list of things she wanted to have with her from their place.

Bella finally took a break at 2p.m. when Amanda ran in and jumped in her arms.

"Hey, Manda Bear, how was your day?"

"It was good, sis. She looked around, sniffed the air and said, "Feed me! I'm hungry."

Bella bent over laughing and had to put both of her hands on her knees to stop from falling over.

She said between guffaws, "Well, I anticipated your needs, Your Highness. Here's one of your humble servants now."

Mike came up to the counter and set her grilled cheese and French fries down with a regal bow before he said, "Milady, here is your meal. Would you care for a beverage?"

She giggled, "Yes, humble servant, I would like some milk, please."

He nodded, "Very good. I will return shortly with your milk." He winked at her and smiled. Amanda covered her mouth and giggled again.

She looked at Bella and said, "He's fun."

Amanda was sitting in Shirley's office coloring and eating her favorite cookies when Edward came in a little after 4. Bella had asked Mike what type of food Edward usually ate there and he smiled and had Six fix up his favorite meal to be ready when he came in. He sat down looking frustrated and very worried, but when he saw Bella his whole face lit up. Her heart immediately responded to him by picking up its pace. It felt like her heart was trying to jump into his lap and kiss him hello.

She walked over to him and asked, "How did everything go?"

His smile dimmed and he said, "We'll see."

Mike walked over and gave Edward a fist bump while setting down his steak sandwich on Italian bread with melted Swiss cheese mushrooms and onions in front of him. There were fries covered in cheddar cheese sauce and a bowl of Shirley's famous peach cobbler. He nodded and thanked Mike as he walked away. Bella looked at all the grease and fat he was about to consume and said,

"So, that's your heart attack on a bun that everyone says you love." She wrinkled her nose at it and laughed shaking her head.

"What? This is the closest thing to a Philly cheese steak that you're going to get in the Chi." He had already taken off his tie and unbuttoned his top two buttons before he came in. He had taken off his cufflinks and rolled up his sleeves. She could see the muscles and veins in his forearms and a black leather cuff with some kind of seal on it. She internally berated herself.

_You are such a slut lately. How are you turned on by forearms?_

His hair was falling forward while he bent over his food, so she stopped him and walked around the counter. He was watching her walk towards him with rapt attention. She felt a little shy, but she kept coming and gestured for him to turn around. He complied and she reached up on her tiptoes and tied his hair back with an elastic band she had in her pocket at all times for Amanda.

He smiled shyly and said very quietly, "Thanks, Isabella." She lightly rubbed his shoulder, "No problem."

He was still looking at her fondly and she giggled, "You can eat now. I just didn't want your hair to get in your way." He cheeks tinted red; he nodded and dug into his food.

Thinking about his cholesterol levels made her cringe and she thought to herself that she would have to get him used to something healthier. She still had a couple of hours left to work and it was busy. The dinner rush was starting and it seemed like all of Chicago wanted to eat at _Shirley's_ that evening. Edward stayed in the pastry shop with Amanda on his lap. They were coloring and she was telling him whatever incredibly complicated story 5 year-olds can come up with and she could tell it was a doozie. It was adorable to see how patient he was with her. She fell asleep in his lap again and he carried her over to Bella and told her that he was taking her to the apartment to have a nap. Bella agreed wholeheartedly and kissed Amanda's forehead before she had to respond to a customer complaint. They caught each other's eyes and he leaned in like he wanted to kiss her forehead, but he stopped himself. She reluctantly let them go and rushed away.

By the time her work day ended at 6, she was completely drained emotionally and physically. She didn't want to get in the elevator to go back up to the apartment because she had a feeling everybody wasn't aware of that way into the building. She was about to call upstairs and get Edward to come down when he walked into the diner. He looked casual in low slung jeans and a black Public Enemy t-shirt with a shoulder holster containing his Glock. He was carrying his gray hoodie from that morning. She could see his tattoos that she had the luxury of seeing wrapped around her that morning and she sighed. She honestly didn't know which look she preferred…the suit look or the casual look. He had a contemplative look on his face until he caught sight of Bella and then he smiled again. She put down the phone and walked right up to him feeling more energized already. He was smiling down at her while he reached out and swept some hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear.

"Do you want your elastic band back?"

She laughed lightly, "Nope. You can keep it. I was just about to call you."

He smiled, bent down and whispered into her ear, "I thought you might." She shivered again from his proximity and he put the hoodie he was holding around her shoulders.

Charlotte piped up very loudly and sweetly, "Bye, Bella and Edward!"

When they turned back towards her she was waving at them sweetly with a big grin on her face. Bella widened her eyes at her and Charlotte just laughed with an impish grin on her face. Edward looked a little embarrassed, but he just said,

"Good night, Char! Tell Peter I said hello."

"Will do, EJ!"

When they walked into the apartment the most amazing aromas hit her nose and her mouth began watering.

"What _is_ that?

He beckoned her into the kitchen. "It's potato crusted halibut with asparagus and potatoes au gratin. I'm not the best cook in the world. But, I think it'll be edible."

Bella was in shock, "You did all this for…us?"

He laughed, "Well, you made sure I ate when I came home from work, so I wanted to make sure you ate when you came home."

Bella's heart warmed at the use of the term "came home." She was an only child for most of her life and her father was gone a lot. Her mother was there physically, but not mentally most of the time. She was off taking some class or learning some new exercise, or whatever. Bella was alone a great deal growing up. Having Amanda and Angela in her life was the closest to a nuclear family she really had. But, this was different and unexpected…in a very good way.

"I didn't know if Amanda would like fish cooked this way, so I made her fish sticks and macaroni and cheese. Emie, my niece, loves food like that. Is that okay?"

Bella said excitedly, "That's perfect! She'll love that. Is she up?"

He smiled at her, "Yeah, she's in grandma's room watching _Cars_. Apparently, it's her favorite."

Bella rolled her eyes and snorted.

"You have no idea. I'm gonna go wash up and get Amanda. We'll be back in ten minutes okay?"

"Take your time, Isabella. I still have to set the table, so by the time you get back everything will be ready to serve."

Bella actually skipped a little into Shirley's room to find Amanda sitting on the love seat repeating the lines from _Cars_. She didn't know how many times she and Amanda had watched that movie. She lost count after twenty. It was actually one of the first cartoons her sister had ever seen. She loved the truck, Mater. For weeks she was going around saying, "My name is Mater, like Tuh-mater." It was funny the first three times. It stopped being funny after the fiftieth time.

"Hey, Manda Bear." She sat next to her and hugged her hello.

"Hey, Bella Boo." She was half-way paying attention to Bella, kicking her little feet against the love seat and repeating the dialogue verbatim.

"Dinner's ready, Manda. You can finish watching _Cars_ after you eat. Let's go clean up, okay."

"I'm not hungry." Bella sighed to herself. She didn't want to fight with her sister about eating.

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"If you come with me to go eat now, you may get to see proof that Edward's not an angel."

She turned her attention to her completely then, "How?"

"Do you remember what I told you about angels not being able to belch?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I am pretty certain if we sit with him and eat we may be able to get solid evidence of that." Bella tried to look as serious as possible.

Amanda looked at her excitedly, jumped off the couch and ran in the bathroom to wash her hands. Bella giggled, turned off the TV and went in there with her to do the same.

They came out into the kitchen where the smaller table was. He had set the table for three and Amanda sat down and immediately focused on Edward. Bella thought it was sweet how she completely brought into the "Proof of Angel Mission."

Edward smiled at both of them and he was about to start fixing their plates, but Bella stopped him.

"You cooked. Sit down. I'll serve."

"Yes, ma'am." He complied immediately and sat down waiting for Bella to fix their plates. She was surprised at how normal this felt. They were sitting around the table enjoying the food. The halibut was excellent. Edward actually cut up Amanda's fish sticks for her. He wasn't kidding when he said he took care of his niece. It was obvious that he knew about kids trying to stick whole hot dogs down their mouths and then having to do the kiddies' Heimlich maneuver. Bella learned that one the hard way.

It was hilarious watching Amanda watching Edward. He kept looking between them saying,

"What?"

Then Amanda would smile and say, "Nothing. Why don't you drink some more soda?" He looked completely puzzled, but he was still chuckling at her.

He looked to Bella for help. She leaned in and whispered to him like he had done with her many times, "I'll tell you later."

He turned his head and breathed in her hair and closed his eyes. "Your hair smells different."

She looked bashful and said, "It's that Black Vanilla Herbal shampoo you have."

He nodded, "It smells good on you." She thanked him timidly.

They finished up and Amanda looked at Bella with all the skepticism a five- year old could muster. Edward hadn't belched. Bella just shrugged at her and tried to hide the laugh that was trying to burst through. She could tell Amanda was leaning more towards the angel side of things every day. Bella went in the bedroom with her and turned _Cars_ back on for her.

Bella and Edward cleaned up together. He didn't want to use the dishwasher for so few dishes, so they washed and dried the old-fashioned way. There was an amiable silence between them like they had been doing this for years instead of after only one day.

"So, what did you mean earlier when you said we'll see if it went well with the press conference and the interviews?"

He poured a glass of Riesling for her, grabbed a Guinness for himself and guided them to the couches in the living room.

She looked at the thick black beer with the foamy head and said, "I don't know how you can drink that stuff. It tastes like licorice, but not in a good way. I took one sip a friend gave me and my head hurt the entire day."

He looked at her appalled, "Bite your tongue. If I can't drink Heineken or Guinness, I don't drink beer."

She huffed at him, "I don't think so. I'll take a Corona, Red Stripe, or a Bud any day over Guinness."

He sipped his beer and smacked his lips and said an exaggerated, "Aaaaaaah!"

She laughed loudly at him. "You can be kind of a jerk sometimes."

He chuckled to himself, "If I had a dime for every time someone told me that I could buy about $100 worth of lottery tickets."

She looked at him swig the beer and said, "Ick."

He laughed at her, "I'll school you. You have to develop a palette for the good stuff."

"I'd rather be uneducated." She shuddered.

He turned to her and asked enthusiastically, "Okay, so what was going on with you and Amanda at dinner?"

"You tell me about the interviews, I'll tell you about Amanda."

His whole expression changed and he got up solemnly and turned on the TV and set up the DVR to play his interviews from the day.

"I didn't know you recorded them."

He looked embarrassed, "It was Angela's idea. She thought you might want to see them."

The morning show interview was first. Bella saw him speaking to a local Chicago TV anchor with Alistair Martin. They were discussing the FBI profile of the killer and what women in the community should do to avoid being victimized by him. At the end of the interview the station put up the sketch and the picture from the surveillance video side to side with an anonymous toll-free number to call in case anyone has any leads.

He played the press conference with Edward's Captain announcing they had new leads and they showed the pictures for the national news with a different toll-free number. He had Edward step up to the podium and reiterate all of the talking points about safety as he had already done on the local morning show.

Bella turned to him and said, "That doesn't seem like much to get excited about."

He nodded, "It's all show and the Night Stalker knows it. To add to it, we're going to get thousands of bad leads that the department has to follow up on to make sure it's nothing." He mumbled the next part,

"Then they have to weed through the calls from women and men…."

She looked at him expectantly, "What?"

"...asking for a date with me." Bella stifled a giggle, but felt a pang of jealousy run through her body. She was sure she was losing it over this man.

"But, that's not really the important part. The Night Stalker called me today."

"What?" She looked at him horrified.

He reached out and touched her cheek to calm her down, "He calls me all of the time."

That didn't help her calm down, but he continued.

"I'm going to be completely forthright with you, Isabella, because that's what you deserve. He knows you're here, that he can't get to you easily and he's not happy about it. He's very irate and I don't know what he's going to do next. I don't even know why he revealed himself this way. It's seems like for some reason this thing in his mind has escalated and we don't have a single clue as to why. If he can't get to you physically, he'll try to get to you some other way to draw you out. But, I think he knows wherever you are I'll be there, which seems to be a big part of the thrill for him."

Her eyes grew big like saucers and she started trembling, but he just squeezed her hand and moved closer to her, "Angela's not coming back." Bella shot up off the couch and practically yelled,

"What?"

He looked completely contrite, but he kept going.

"Angela is in protective custody at a location that you can't know."

"When did this happen?"

"Today after Ben brought your things back from your building. I need to tell you some things about the building, sweetheart."

"About the building?"

"Yes. Someone got in. We think it was him or someone that he has helping him." She noticed his hands shaking slightly.

"I thought there were police watching it."

"There were, but not after Angela and Amanda left. We couldn't waste resources that way."

"How do you know it was him?"

"There were…indicators that I'd rather not get into. But, you will need to go by there eventually and tell us what's missing…Angela, too. Right now the building is a crime scene."

"But, I have top notch security, Edward."

He nodded, "You do for an ordinary break-in. This man has shown that he has superior technological skill; apparently, in several different areas."

She was pacing the floor worrying about not knowing where Angela was.

"Did somebody call Iris and tell her where her daughter is?" She was on the verge of tears.

"Ben went by to explain what was going on." He was looking at her with pleading eyes. "Please, Isabella, just take deep breaths."

"Deep breaths my ass, Edward! What about Amanda? What is she going to do about school?"

"Amanda is going to have to be home-schooled until further notice, Isabella."

"Home-schooled? Who is going to home-school her? I'm gone damn near thirteen hours a day."

"We haven't worked that out, yet, but it'll be someone that has to go through three levels of security clearance before they can step foot near Amanda."

She sat down trying to process everything. He didn't move or say anything else. She jumped up and went in the kitchen to pour more Riesling. She was getting more furious by the second.

She came back out and placed the glass on the coffee table, but it spilled a little because her hands were shaking.

She muttered to herself, "That's what all this wining, dining and cutting up fish sticks was about." Edward's head shot up and he shook it no, but she held up her hands and didn't let him talk.

"So, let me get this straight…" Edward's posture became rigid and his jaw was flexing preparing himself for whatever she might say.

"…My best friend in the whole world is gone and I can't know where she is for reasons I'm not even clear on. My building is trashed because my security wasn't good enough to keep a serial killer out, only a burglar...an ordinary burglar. My baby sister can't go to school until you all catch this guy, which could be…I don't know…never, until I die, or both. I'm stuck in my boss' apartment until God knows when. What else? What else should I add to this list?"

He looked her dead in the eyes and said, "We can't stay here. We're leaving tomorrow and you are on leave from your job, as am I…I mean regular duty. My job right now is to ensure your safety and assist Whitlock in finding this man as much as I can. Mike will fill in for Charlotte if you're not back before she leaves for her new job. Jessica will take his spot. My grandmother knows everything."

"Son of a bitch!" She picked up the crystal glass filled with wine and threw it at the wall. It shattered and the room became completely silent except for the gasp that she let out. She covered her mouth realizing she had just broken one of Shirley's crystal goblets.

She watched as the liquid trailed down the wall onto the dark wood floors. "Oh my god, Edward. I am so sorry."

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart. It's understandable that you're upset. Please, just come and sit down so we can talk about this some more."

"No. I'm sorry. I have to clean up this mess. Shirley trusted me…"

She walked over unsteadily trying to pick up the pieces, but she slipped in the wine and fell right into a broken shard on the floor cutting her arm."

Edward ran over to her quickly picked her up from the floor and rushed her into the bathroom, "Shit! I said I'd never let you fall. Why does this keep happening?" He yelled out to no one in particular.

He opened up his phone and quickly dialed a number,

"Jacob. I'm glad I got you on the phone. There's an emergency. I need you to come to my grandmother's apartment over the restaurant. I have someone in protective custody that I can't risk taking to the ER. My father's out of town and she's bleeding pretty badly." The voice on the other end spoke

"I don't think the cut is near a major artery. But, I do think she'll need stitches and possibly a tetanus shot." The voice on the other end said a few things to him and he ended the call.

He grabbed some gauze and wrapped the wound up. "We have to keep pressure on it, sweetheart. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have told you everything like this. I'm such an idiot." Bella was shaking and crying and he was holding her arm up trying to comfort her.

"Someone is coming, love. Hold on. It won't be long."

"Edward, I can't take the smell of blood." She looked into his eyes knowing what was coming next. Edward softly ran his shaking fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead.

"Just breathe, baby. Take deep breaths. It'll calm you" He demonstrated by breathing in deeply through his nose and out through his mouth. He didn't understand that wouldn't help her. She kept shaking her head no and was actually trying to keep holding her breath.

Amanda lightly tapped on the bathroom door. "Bella, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Bella tried her hardest to stifle her sobs, but they kept coming and shaking her whole body.

Edward opened the door slightly and said as sweetly as he could, "Amanda, hon, please go back in your room. It's not safe out here. There's glass on the floor. Your sister fell and hurt her arm, but she's going to be okay. There's a doctor coming and he's going to take care of her." Amanda's eyes grew big and Bella called out shakily,

"I'm okay, Manda Bear. Do what Edward says. Everything's going to be okay. He's taking care of me." Amanda replied that she would and after she heard the door close to Shirley's room Bella passed out.

****DBW****

_**A/N: Hey, if you like it, tell me and maybe a friend. **__** If you don't like it, tell me that, too. It'll help me grow. Thanks for reading everybody.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**Ok. This was a hard chapter for me to write. But, I think it's important to be true to Edward's life and what he encounters. There are racial slurs, but they're not superfluous and it is really a part of the story and the character development. I promise those who stick with the story that there is a point.**_

_**This is a repeat of the events of Chapter 6 from Edward's perspective, so please bear with me. **_

Chapter 7 – Revelations and Lamentations

Edward was pulled away from his first restful sleep in a long while by the sound of his alarm. He rolled over, turned it off and sighed. He lay there with his arm over his eyes and realized that he had a morning situation going on in his sleeping pants. He reached down absentmindedly to take care of it before he had to start his day. He really didn't think this was the proper way to say good morning to Isabella. He reached over with the other hand to his nightstand to get some lubrication and it wasn't there…the nightstand. He sat up quickly wondering what the hell happened to his nightstand. He looked around the room and memories of the night before came flooding back. He was in Isabella's room. He looked over to see if she was still sleeping. He had set his alarm for 3:20 a.m., so he could leave her room discreetly and escort her downstairs when it was time. He quickly got up because she wasn't there.

His brain was still a little foggy, but he no longer had a situation to take care of. His whole body was focused on finding Isabella. He couldn't figure out why she would be up this early. He checked in her bathroom. No Isabella. He checked the bathroom in his room. No Isabella. His heart beat had increased triple time. He looked at the clock again and it read 4:22. He slapped himself in the forehead. He must've accidentally set it for the wrong hour. That means she woke up and saw him sleeping in her room like a stalker and ran away screaming.

Then, he began to panic because the reason why they were there hit him like a tidal wave. He quickly grabbed his shoulder holster from the closet in his room and made sure his Glock was ready to use. He jammed his feet into his sneakers and ran down the stairs grabbing the key to the front door of the pastry shop off the key hooks in the kitchen area. He quickly opened the door to his grandmother's bedroom. Amanda and Angela were sound asleep. He breathed a sigh of relief, but Isabella wasn't there in bed with them, or on the love seat. So, she didn't just try to escape from him and oversleep. He checked their bathroom. No Isabella. He checked the guest bathroom. She was not in the apartment. He began pulling his hair with both hands. This cannot be happening again.

He quickly walked out the front door with his phone in hand ready to call in the cavalry to find his Isabella.

_His Isabella. _

He quickly let himself into the front door of the pastry shop, locking it behind him. He looked around and yelled out her name. He ran to the back of the shop and looked in the restrooms with his gun pulled. He ran over to the employee lounge. She was not there. He turned towards the diner and he saw parts of his name on a football jersey. Some parts were covered by a cascade of brown wavy hair standing on the diner side of the French doors that separated the diner from the pastry shop. He put his gun away and inhaled deeply. She was alive.

He walked up to the door and just stood there letting the relief of seeing her settle in. She finally turned around, jumped and screamed. When she realized it was him, she opened the doors for him. He wanted to hug her and kiss her all over her face and just…hold her. Something in his brain clicked that she didn't know what he knew. She hadn't had any revelations the night before. So, he calmed down and tried not to make any more of an ass out of himself in front of his colleagues and this woman that he would gladly give his life for. He was already standing there in his pajamas, barely awake with a gun holster on. He left Isabella letting her know he would be back as soon as possible.

****DBW***

Today was going to be a day that could tip things in the right direction, or things could go quickly downhill. His gut told him not to be optimistic. However, thinking about the fact that they finally had some clue what he looked like gave him some glimmer of hope.

But why? Why now? Why would he all of a sudden show his face? That question had been plaguing him since Isabella said she could describe him. The words, _"You'll find me when I want you to, Cullen,"_ kept playing over and over in his head. The image of him had thrown him from the very beginning. He didn't know what he expected. He had gone through criminology classes and had studied serial killers during his academic career and after. He knew that many serial killers have anti-social personality disorder. They're generally good-looking people who are inconspicuous and innocuous enough looking to lure victims in. In that way, he fit the profile in a textbook manner. He was blond, blue-eyed and of average height and a slim build. He could see how an unsuspecting woman could find him harmless. But, now women were on alert. What was he doing that made these women that fit his profile perfectly let their guard down no matter how many warnings they're given? His gut was telling him there was something about him that he was missing in those pictures.

Other things bothered him, too. The medical examiner's reports always put the time of death at shortly after dusk. Depending on the season that time could range from 5 p.m. to as late as 8 p.m. However, he always dumped and positioned the bodies in the dead of night. They never knew if he was luring them right before the time of death or keeping them for days. There were bruises…two marks on the neck that looked like attempts to bite with no skin penetration, scuffed knees, and rope burn around the wrists. But, there were no other signs of physical abuse. The gunshot to the head was always the cause of death. According to Alistair, he seemed to not want to touch his victims in any way while they were alive.

So, he wasn't torturing his victims for long periods of time; at least, not physically, as far as Edward knew. His attempt to lure Isabella away gave them some insight into his methods only if he were doing things the way he always had with her. But, his gut told him that Isabella was different for him.

He went into his small closet where he kept a few suits and pulled out the one Alice told him looks the best on him. He was suspicious if it was the fit or the label she liked. But, he figured you can't go wrong with Armani. The only shirt he had there was the silk cranberry one with the matching silk tie Esme sent him for his birthday that had just passed. Even though he had told everyone that his birthday is a day he wanted to be left alone, Esme always sent a present with a simple note telling him he was loved.

He showered, shaved and put on gray jogging pants and a t-shirt. He tried to arrange his hair into some semblance of order and grabbed his reading glasses. Alice kept telling him to get contacts, but he didn't like the idea of poking his finger in his eyes. He went down to make a quick breakfast thinking maybe he could get Angela and Amanda to come join him. He tried not to bang around too much, but before he knew it, Angela came out of the room with her hair all over her head and a look on her face that could melt ice.

He looked at her and said, "Good morning." It came out more like a question. She pointed and grunted at the coffee pot.

"Do you want some coffee, Angela? I just made some." She stared at him and he looked back a little worried. He didn't know what was going on and he was really sorry he woke her up. She mumbled something about what time of morning it was and started calling him crazy in Spanish. She started walking away, but he stopped her.

"Angela, before you go back to bed, I wanted to let you know I'm calling Ben to have him come and take you to your building to pick up some things. Is that okay?" She perked up slightly and volunteered,

"I have to work at one, this afternoon. Let him know that if he gets here around eleven, I'll be ready. Have Bella make a list. I'm going back to bed now."

"Okay. Thanks, Angela." She grunted something back at him and he made a mental note to eat in the diner in the mornings.

After breakfast, he put his dishes in the dishwasher, brushed his teeth again and finally got dressed. His conversation with Ben was interesting. He cursed him out for calling that early on his day off. But, when he asked him to come and take Angela to get some things from the apartment building his whole attitude changed. He said he'd be there at 10:45. He made a note to himself to ask Isabella about this.

He hated suits and the shoes Alice bought him hurt like hell, but he had to be a grown-up today and look professional. He had two television interviews that he wanted to be thoroughly prepared for, so he picked up the police sketch and the print out from the surveillance video and put them in a manila folder. He grabbed the talking points that he was working on the night before and pulled the flash drive out of his lap top for the PowerPoint presentation he made the night before. He had already emailed everything to the shows' producers so, he felt like he had done all he could do.

He attached his detective shield to his belt and put his Glock in his belt case in the small of his back, so he could be as discreet as possible around civilians. He strapped an extra smaller piece to an ankle holster, grabbed his suit jacket and headed down to the pastry shop. When he walked in his eyes immediately searched for Isabella. Charlotte stopped him and asked him for a hug. He obliged one of his favorite people and they chatted for a few minutes. He started looking around again and she said,

"Are you looking for someone?" She had a huge grin on her face for some reason that he wasn't aware of, but he couldn't help but grin back.

"Why do you look like the cat that stole the canary, Char?"

"I don't know. I just got the feelin' that you may have been searching for Bella now that you're all gussied up. Are you tryin' to get her to fall in love with you or something?"

He must've turned completely red because she laughed hard at him, "I knew it! Look at that blush. You and Bella are two peas in a pod."

He really didn't know what to say, so he told her he had to go over some important paperwork to deflect this line of questioning.

"Uhmm hmm. She's in the back prepping." He hugged her again and she pinched his cheek. He rolled his eyes at her and sat at a stool at the counter really looking over the talking points. He smelled something delicious, but he figured it was just the smell of cookies baking. However, when he looked up, Bella was there with her hair up in a bun and a hair net. He hated that he couldn't see her hair because he _loved_ her hair. There was a distinct tightening in his pants as thoughts of her completely naked underneath his football jersey with his name on her back marking her as his, in his shower, and in his bed writhing and moaning beneath him started to infiltrate his mind. But, the haze of lust lifted within a matter of seconds because she looked like she had seen a ghost. His body went on full alert and he asked her what was wrong, while he was looking around for whatever it was that had put her in that state. If the Night Stalker was bold enough to come back and attack Bella in broad daylight, he would not be arresting him. They would have to call the Coroner.

Charlotte was standing behind him in Bella's eye line, but she scurried away like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. He looked back at Bella and asked what was wrong. He started to panic because she couldn't seem to verbalize what she had seen.

He went to the door and looked down the street. The street was practically deserted. He came back towards her and she still had a dazed look on her face. Something was wrong. He quickly went to get her some coffee hoping the caffeine would help. Eventually, she snapped out of it stating that she didn't get enough sleep. A sense of relief washed over him and he felt like he could go on with his day as long as she was okay. Leaving her was the hardest thing he had to do lately. She was so smart, selfless and caring. He could have stayed there all day and watched her just…be. That blush that stained her cheeks was just divine. He wanted to ask her every time he saw it what she was thinking. He couldn't help but to reach out and touch her skin before he left.

****DBW****

On his drive to WGN studios, he was thinking about Isabella's declaration in her sleep.

_It was after midnight and he had just finished up adjusting some bullet points and talking points from his captain who he was absolutely certain had some high level dirt on Mayor Daley or something to get his promotions because he was a complete moron at times. _

_He knew he needed to get a few hours of sleep. However, he really didn't know if his dreams would allow it. He had gone though his nightly rituals and climbed into bed. Sleep was not coming, as usual. He walked out into the hallway and heard someone talking in Isabella's room. He tried not to eavesdrop because he assumed it was Angela in the room with her doing some late-night talking. But, the longer he stood there leaning against the wall he realized he was only hearing one voice sporadically. He walked down to the door and tapped lightly twice before he eased open the door. It took some time for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and he saw that there was no one there but Isabella. He laughed quietly because she had to use the stairs to climb into the bed, like his grandmother._

_As he walked further into the room, he realized the she had kicked the duvet off her legs in the night. Chicago weather in August was strange. It could be hot enough to have on the air conditioner one minute and cold enough to have on the heat the next. But, it was pretty nippy that evening. He had even turned on the heat when he saw her shiver earlier. As he was thinking that maybe he should go turn it back down he noticed that she had on his jersey…and nothing else. The shirt had ridden up in the night and she was laying there in all her glory exposed to him. He could smell her hair before he walked up to her. She smelled like warm sugar cookies and vanilla. He was raised to be a gentlemen and to respect women so mentally he wanted to look away, but his smaller brain wanted to keep looking and kept tapping on his sleeping pants wanting to get out. _

_He felt immediately ashamed of his lack of control. His body was warring with itself while he walked over shakily and quietly and sat on the edge of the bed. He closed his eyes and thought of dead puppies and Emily when she fell and he had to rush her to the emergency room. He was able to control himself a little better then. He gently pulled the jersey down and pulled the cover back over her beautifully feminine curves. She let out a small moan and seemed to settle down. He walked back to the door to leave, but she started wiggling around and mumbling again restlessly and he wondered if this was normal. He walked to the edge of the bed and set down once more. As soon as he got close to her again she settled down._

_He thought it had to be a coincidence, so he tried to leave a third time, but the same thing happened. She was probably frightened and her subconscious was asking for company. He was concerned about her because he knew she had a long day at the restaurant ahead, so he decided to stay and try to get some sleep in the chair. He knew he wouldn't sleep through the night. So, he was pretty sure he could leave before she_ _woke up and she wouldn't even know he was there. He quickly set his phone alarm for 3:20 a.m. and sat in the chaise by the window._

_He heard her talking again and he quietly called her name, but she didn't respond. The fact that she talked in her sleep was another item on a growing list of things he was mentally compiling about her. He snickered about it a little and settled back in the chair. He tried not to listen too hard to her murmurings. He heard her say,_

"_Too gray."_

"_I miss brown."_

"_Green."_

_He was smiling wondering what the hell she was dreaming about. He settled back again until he heard her say his name. His head shot up thinking she must've awakened and he was trying to rack his brain to think of a logical reason to give her as to why he was sitting in her room in the middle of the night like a creepy stalker. But, her eyes were still closed._

"_Edward, please don't go." He was on the edge of his seat at this point._

_She moaned lightly and kicked the duvet off again. He wondered if she was having a sex dream about him. His eyes widened because he didn't know if he should stay or leave, at this point. He was curious as hell, but he felt like he was eavesdropping on something personal. Maybe she knew more than one Edward. He was feeling more ridiculous by the second because he was becoming slightly jealous of her dream Edward, whoever he was. He had decided to leave because he was getting really uncomfortable being there. Then she giggled and said,_

"_Edward the angel." He smiled at her baby sister's ideas about him. He was pretty sure he was the Edward she was dreaming about._

"_I need you." His mouth dropped open._

"_I want you." He sat on the edge of the chair._

"_Love." His breathing picked up exponentially. Love? He should've run out screaming, but, surprisingly, it didn't scare him in the way it should have. They had only known each other for a matter of hours, but it already felt like she had been in his life forever. Besides, maybe she was talking about her sister or Angela._

"_Love you, Edward." She moaned again and he slid off the chair. He looked at the clock. It was 1:47a.m, August 3, 2010. He would never forget the time and date his whole life changed. She said she loved him. She was asleep and she would probably never remember this dream she was having, but some parts of her knew. Some parts of her knew she loved him. _

_He was on his knees next to her bed and he really examined her face, her eyelashes, and her sweet mouth with the full bottom lip that he wanted to nibble on and a big part of him that had been dormant for years knew there was a God. He didn't know what other force could be powerful enough to place this lovely woman into his life who had already seen him at his worst, raging and damn near handcuffing his grandmother, but could still love him. Inside of his body and heart he knew he already loved her back. He just existed before, but now he was alive._

_He wouldn't tell her of course. But, he knew. That's all that mattered. She was all that mattered. He was scared to death about what that meant for her, but he had to have her in his life. She was his life now. He pulled the duvet back over her and kissed her forehead. He slid back onto the chaise and his whole body relaxed because of his_ _proximity to this woman he had these feelings for. He had fallen asleep easily for the first time in months with a smile on his face._

****DBW****

As he pulled into the parking lot for WGN studios on the north side of the city, he was able to focus his brain back onto the task at hand. He slid on his suit jacket, grabbed his leather binder folder with his notes and went in to meet the producer. She was a no nonsense zaftig Korean woman possibly in her forties. Her skin was so clear and smooth that he really couldn't tell her age by that, but her manner indicated maturity beyond the age of thirty. She quickly walked Edward through the studio to the employee kitchen and asked if he wanted coffee. He opted for water and they walked over to the make-up room so he could get dusted for shininess. Alistair was already there and dusted. When Edward was finished being made-up, Alistair blew a kiss at him and laughed. Edward chuckled and gave him the finger. The lighting people asked him to come so they could adjust for his appearance. There was a table set up with snacks for the crew. He eyed the bagels, but decided against it. He was nervous about the appearance as well as what it would mean for the case. He decided to watch the people rushing around doing their various jobs and he caught a glimpse of the WGN morning anchors reading the prompters with their posh television voices that are supposed to mask any regional influence. He chuckled because he had traveled around the country and in smaller markets they treasured local accents, especially in the South. Chicago was a major market and they tried to pick people who looked good, but were also pretty generic in other ways. People in other cities always joked that in Chicago news people were celebrities.

Shanice King was of one those people. He and Alistair were actually doing the interview with her. He had watched her many mornings thinking that she was the type of woman he would love to meet. She had a short pixie hair-cut like his sister's or Halle Berry. She had full lips with a perfectly even white smile and dark chocolate-brown skin with Asiatic eyes and seemed to be the epitome of class and sophistication. He laughed to himself because only a few hours ago he would've been trying to put the moves on this woman, but his body had no reaction to her.

They were on commercial break, so the anchors got up to stretch, take notes and grab some food. Shanice started walking towards the snack table. She was about average height for a woman, toned but womanly, and very attractive. When she noticed him, her eyes widened and she slowed down a little. Her hips swayed a little more than they were previously and she smiled at him. She said rather enthusiastically,

"Well, well. Good morning, brotha. You must be Edward Cullen."

He was a little taken aback by the change in her voice. She was clearly from the south side of Chicago. But, he shrugged the change off. He knew what it meant to have to put on a professional demeanor and it put him at ease that she was being herself around him. He smiled back and shook her hand which she held on to a little longer than was customary. But, he didn't mind and he was actually a little flattered that she was being somewhat flirtatious.

"Yes I am, Ms. King. Good morning to you and it's very nice to meet you. I watch you every morning I get the chance."

She grabbed a water off the table and mumbled something about being able to watch him every morning under her breath. His cheeks took on a blush because he wasn't sure he was supposed to hear that.

"You can call me Shanice. May I call you Edward?"

He nodded, "Absolutely. Thanks for not shortening my name. I hate that." He chuckled at her.

"I heard that. It's a good name. Why shorten it?" She moved a little closer to him.

"Well, it was my father's name and I was a junior. I want to keep as much of him with me as I can. It's kind of silly, but I feel like it connects me to him since he passed."

She smiled adoringly at him, "That's not silly, brotha. That's kind of sweet actually. I'm sorry for your loss." She paused for a beat and relaxed next to him leaning against the table and asked, "So, are you ready for the interview?"

He smiled and said, "As ready as I'll ever be. Also, thanks for the condolences, but it was a long time ago now." He leaned in to tell her, "I'm a little nervous, though."

She touched his shoulder lightly, "Don't be scared. It'll be quick and I'll take it easy on you." He felt reassured and the tension in his stomach eased. He nodded his thanks.

Alistair was already getting seated because the commercial break was coming to an end shortly.

"So, I've never been happier to be a sista in my life." She laughed.

He looked at her a little puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"This serial killer we're going to talk about. He's targeting these little silly white girls running around town. At least _we_ have one less thing to worry about in this crazy city. You know what I mean bruh?" She snickered at her little joke.

His jaw flexed and he responded, "Well, I can understand being relieved that you are not the target of a serial killer. However, Shanice, I don't understand how you can be so blasé about who this killer is targeting. My sister is one of those, as you put it, "silly white girls." My mother is white…both of my mothers and someone else I care very deeply for is." By the time he finished he was fuming, but he was trying his best not to show it.

She stepped back and put up her hands, "I didn't mean to offend you. I was just joking. But, I can see you're one of _those _types of brothas."

"Oh and what type would that be?" She had his full attention.

She looked him up and down with disdain. "You probably only date white girls, forgot where you came from, and think you're better than us ignorant 'darkies' because you're light-skinned." She took on a defiant stance as though she were the one that was just offended.

He sneered at this woman who he was quickly labeling as obnoxious, presumptuous, and, yes, a little ignorant, "Firstly, Ms. King, I am not your brother and I would never think of any black person as a "darkie" because I would be exhibiting racist thoughts about members of my own family and, ironically, myself. Secondly, you have no idea where I come from. If you _must_ know, I was born in Evergreen Park and I've lived in Naperville most of my life. That's where I _come from_ and there's no way I can forget that. I would think, as a journalist, you would be more professional and more cautious about what flies out of your mouth, but I can see I was presumptuous in that regard. So, let's do each other a favor. Why don't I just do my job and you try to do yours? Oh, by the way, I'm Detective Cullen, Ms. King. Let's keep this interaction as brief and formal as possible."

She stormed away in a huff muttering and the producer called him over so they could put his microphone on and give him some last minute directions. She sat down in the chair across from them and glared daggers at him, which he gladly returned. Alistair looked between them with a questioning look on his face. As soon as the cameraman started counting down for the start, her whole demeanor changed and she put back on her anchor voice. He laughed to himself as he was leaving the studio,

"Class and sophistication my ass."

****DBW****

The press conference in front of City Hall downtown was simply a show of force to calm the city down and to show Chicagoans that this situation was under control. It was a big lie and Edward knew it. However, it gave this story a national spotlight and if there were any leads from other parts of the country on this man it was all worth it.

When he got into his car to drive back to the station his cell phone rang. He answered it absentmindedly. He was still thinking about what he was going to do about keeping Isabella and her little family safe.

"Detective Cullen."

"Nice show you all put on there, Cullen."

He pulled over cautiously not expecting this call at all, but realizing he should have been.

"Well, if it isn't the shithead that's killing people. Tell me something, are you feeling suicidal instead of homicidal?"

"I don't know what you mean, Cullen. Please elaborate." He said with mock sincerity.

"Oh, you know _exactly_ what I mean. You showed up at my grandmother's restaurant with a little message for me. You have to know if you fuck with my family I will hunt you until I end you."

"My, my, Cullen. Homicidal threats from a police detective? Tsk, tsk. So, how's that little dark-haired bitch you're hiding away in that apartment over the restaurant? Do you think you can keep it away from me for very long?" He could hear the intense rage in his voice that he was trying to hide.

His fists clenched so tightly in his palms, he may have been drawing blood.

"I swear before all that is holy if you lay a finger on that woman you will not breathe long enough to call me again."

"Ooooh, I see what's happening now. The mixed up mutt is in heat over that succubus. Typical." He cackled loudly into the phone.

Cullen gasped, "Succubus? " He had to pull over. He had called woman inhuman before, but this was getting worse. He had called him a nut job and a nutcase before because, in the regular world, systematically murdering people is crazy. But, in the legal sense, he never thought he was crazy. This man knew what he was doing was wrong because he wouldn't be hiding and running away from his crimes, otherwise. But, something had changed. The hairs on his arms stood up.

"You couldn't be more right, you murdering son of a bitch. All of those other women whose lives you ended didn't have a personal attachment to me. This one does. If I were you, I would think twice about pursuing her because, to everyone else but you, that woman is human and loved." He was shaking with rage.

"Hmmm…that's an interesting piece of information. But, I'd have to caution you about fucking this one. Have you ever seen _Rosemary's Baby?_ She's nothing but a demon, Cullen." He ended the call before Edward could reply.

He was glad that call wasn't recorded for once. That was not the most professional moment in his life. A wave of fear and nausea washed over him as he wondered how in the world anybody could think his Isabella was anything but good.

****DBW****

His hands were shaking again when he got back on the road, but this time he turned on his siren and put the cherry on the top of his hood so he could beat traffic. He needed to make some drastic moves and quickly. He walked into his department with a sense of urgency twenty minutes later. Jasper looked up at him with a look of sadness that made Edward stop cold in his tracks. Ben was also there with Angela and she was in tears. He felt like he was walking through water as he started moving his feet to approach them. If something happened to Isabella, he didn't think he would survive it. When he reached them he managed to squeak out,

"What the hell is going on now?"

Ben walked up to him and said,

"Edward, it's pretty bad. Why don't you sit down?" Edward sat down, but he felt like his head was in a fog. He looked at his cousin expectantly.

"We went to the building to get some things for the girls and it had been broken into."

"What?" He was feeling a little light-headed.

"The place had been trashed like someone just went into a rage. Both apartments were trashed, but Bella's took the brunt of it. It's a crime scene now." He looked down like he didn't want to tell him something.

He prodded his cousin impatiently, "Whatever it is, man, just spit it out."

"There was a message written on the wall. I took a picture of it with my phone."

He handed the phone to Edward and he read the message that was written in red on a wall,

'_You should've stayed in hell. I'll make sure you stay there this time.'_

He didn't know how many times he swallowed before he looked up. All three of them were staring at him. He finally turned his attention to Angela who was obviously an emotional wreck. He could relate completely.

"Angela, I'm so sorry." He bent down next to her and hugged her softly. She hugged him back and she looked deeply into his eyes.

"We can't let anything happen to Bella, Edward. Please do something." He nodded feeling more resolute than ever while he stood back up. He pulled Ben to the side and said,

"Ben, get Angela away from Isabella. I don't want to know what you do, or where you take her because if somehow he uses me to try to draw out Bella, I would rather die than lead him to her friend. Keep her guarded and away from the restaurant."

Ben looked at him puzzled and frightened at what Edward just insinuated. "Do you think that's a good idea, man? Bella and Angela are like sisters. Wouldn't that make Bella even more frightened?"

He gave Ben a pleading look and said, "What if he uses Angela to get to Isabella, Ben. I will not…cannot live with that on my conscience." A look of fear and anger passed over Ben's face as he looked at Angela and he nodded.

"Okay. I know where I'll take her." Edward cut him off.

"I'll call you, if we need you, cuz. Angela's going to have to help catalogue and inventory her apartment to make sure nothing was taken right? So, it'll be soon I'm hoping." Ben nodded and hugged his cousin, walked over to Angela and explained to her what was happening and she started sobbing again.

"Can I at least tell my mother where I am?" Ben nodded without looking at Edward for permission. "I'll tell your mother where you are." He gently lifted her from the chair by the hand and guided her out of the station after Edward hugged Angela good-bye and apologized again.

Edward looked at Jasper and knew what he had to do, "Whitlock, I need to talk to you and the Captain as soon as possible. Do you have a minute?"

Jasper looked at him like he was a lunatic, "Of course I have a minute. You're my partner. Where else would I be?"

They walked into his captain's office and Edward explained what was happening and made this declaration,

"Captain Morris, I want off this case as lead detective. I suggest Whitlock take the lead and, if need be, I'll assist him in any way possible. This case has become too personal for me and I'm not getting anywhere. The only thing I ask is that I can take a leave to keep watch over Isabella Swan in protective custody. I think she trusts me the most and I'm the one most familiar with this case at this point." He knew it was a long shot to suggest this and he was prepared to resign if he had to, but he did it anyway with bated breath as Whitlock stared at him like he had three heads.

The Captain looked at Jasper and asked, "How do you feel about this?"

Jasper replied in his customarily calm drawl, "Well, Captain Morris, this is the first I'm hearing about this…change. But, Cullen here is right about this being very personal for him. It's perfectly understandable. He's only human and people he truly cares for are being targeted by a murderer. So, I would be happy to take the lead and have Cullen help me find this son of a bitch…sir."

The Captain held his head down in serious contemplation. He finally looked up and said, "Okay. Cullen you've done the best you can, but you can tell this is wearing you down and he does seem to be fixated on you. Take all the time you need to watch this Isabella Swan because the last thing we need is another murder." Edward winced at the last part of his statement, but Morris didn't notice. "Focus on her and let's end this."

Cullen was shocked because he thought Morris was going to ask him several dozen idiotic questions. But, he truly surprised him. So, he decided to push his luck even further.

"Sir, there's the issue of her sister that she has custody of. She could be used to try to draw her out. She takes a school bus to Naperville from Chicago every day to go to school. Do you have any suggestions?"

He looked up and said casually, "I guess she's not going to be going to school for a while. I'll talk to her school district about how to get her home-schooled. Of course, it may take a while because he or she will go through several levels of security, first. Don't worry, Cullen. We all have your back. You've solved cases here that everybody is appreciative of, including the Mayor. He still owes you for solving that robbery case at his brother's house last year so quickly. Go keep that woman safe and call me if you need us." He reached out his hand to shake Edward's and he gladly took it and said thank you.

"Oh, Edward, stop and talk to central about the paperwork you need to fill out for the paid leave." Edward nodded at him and walked out with a new found respect for his Captain. Maybe he didn't have pictures of the Mayor in a bra.

****DBW****

Edward left feeling somewhat lighter inside. He could focus on Isabella, her best friend was safe and Amanda would be with them all day. He checked in with the officers at the restaurant and asked how she was doing. They said she was safe and Amanda had already come home from school. He sent up a silent prayer of thanks that something was going right.

The next call he made was to his grandmother.

"Masen residence."

"Grandma. It's Edward." There was a slight pause and she said,

"Edward what's wrong? I can hear it in your voice."

"I'm feeling a little better than I was earlier, grand. But, this has been a rough day. I need to talk to you about Isabella."

"Okay." He could hear her bracing herself.

"As you know, there's a man that's intent on killing her. For some reason he has delusions about her that have made her very important to him. I don't think she's going to be able to work right now. There are too many opportunities for someone to snatch her and I can't let that happen." He waited for the verbal beating he was sure to get about asking her to let Isabella take time away from a job she just started.

"No, Edward. You can't let that happen. You're absolutely right. None of us will let that happen. Here's what we're going to do because Charlotte is leaving the nest if I have to push her out myself. I'm putting Mike in Charlotte's position and his wife can take over for him temporarily. Charlotte still has more than a week left. Mike and Jess both have at least another year with me, so there's no rush for Isabella to come back. Do what you have to do." Edward almost broke down crying in the middle of the road.

"Thanks, grandma. I really appreciate you doing this for her…and me."

"You love her."

He almost crashed. He pulled over to the side of the road and said,

"What?"

"You love her. I can hear it in your voice. I knew I loved your grandfather from the first moment I laid eyes on him. I see that in you and Bella."

He said softly, "Grandma, I can't tell her that. She'll think I'm nuts and run away from me screaming. I'm trying to be a friend without scaring her."

"Well, EJ, love is a funny thing. It has a mind of its own and it's hard to control it. So, good luck with that, sweetie. But, I know one thing…the way she looks at you…I don't think you have to worry about scaring her." She chuckled.

All he could say in return was, "I love you, grand."

"I know that, boy. Now, call your mother. She's worried about you." Then, she ended the call.

****DBW****

When he got back to his grandmother's diner it was a little after 4 p.m. He was exhausted and hungry. He hadn't been able to eat all day. He still had to call Esme and was dreading that call. He hated to worry her, in particular. He knew if he told her what was going on they would leave their vacation early and come home. He had asked his brother and sister the day before not to contact them because everything was handled and there was no need to worry them. However, after today, things had changed.

He walked into the restaurant contemplating his call to his mother. He sat down at a stool at the counter frustrated with how one person could be causing so much discord in so many people's lives. Then, that strange electricity he feels in his body whenever he's near Isabella came back and he looked up. There she was…his world. His mood lifted dramatically.

She had Six make him his favorite foods. He was so thankful that he wanted to leap over the counter and kiss her. She stopped him before he dug in and came walking around the corner…so beautiful and completely unaware. He was in a little trance until she asked him to turn around. She tied his hair back and had to remind him of why he was sitting there. He watched her for a little while…the way she laughed and interacted with the customers; her complete disregard for her own comfort so other people can feel better, and the way other people watched her…particularly the men in the restaurant.

He had the irrational thought that he wanted to mark her as his somehow so they would stop ogling his Isabella. He was honestly on his way to do something really stupid, but a little voice stopped him.

"Whatcha doing, Edward?" Amanda apparently was in his grandmother's office the whole time and she was now looking up at him holding crayons and a coloring book.

He beamed down at her, "Well, I was just thinking that I wanted the company of a little girl by the name of Amanda and you appeared right in front of me. Isn't that amazing? Your name is Amanda right?"

She laughed at him, "Stop pulling my leg."

He couldn't help but laugh loudly at that one. Sometimes she said things much too grown-up for her age. She reached up her arms towards him asking him silently to pick her up. Suddenly, she was a little girl again and, he thought, an amazing one, too. He wanted her to meet Emily so they could play together. Then he thought about both of them wanting to play 'horsey with the long mane' at the same time and he mused that he might have to fake a permanent back condition if he introduced them.

He had so many questions about Amanda for Isabella. He couldn't wait to have one on one time with her so he could figure out why they seemed so alone in the world. Amanda settled into his lap and started telling him about school and a little girl that kept pulling her hair, how she told her that wasn't very nice and how now they were best friends. He chuckled because he wished things were still that simple. She asked him to color with her and she kept scolding him about making sure he colored in the lines…he had never been able to do that. If it wasn't for the fact he could already read on a fifth grade level, he would've failed kindergarten. They sat like that for about an hour and then she talked herself to sleep.

He carried Amanda over to her sister so he could tell her he was taking her up for a nap. She walked up and kissed Amanda on her forehead. He wanted to do the same to her, but he noticed people staring at them, particularly the officers that were watching her, and he was able to stop himself.

After he put Amanda down for her nap, he decided to finally wash the make-up off his face and get out of the suit. After he showered, he felt that he had finally washed away the grime of the day. But, there were words that kept flashing though his mind.

_Succubus._

_Demon._

_It. _

He called Isabella "it." He definitely was going to contact Alistair to find out what he thought of this. He wanted to do something special for her and Amanda tonight. He thought of the consideration she showed for him when she had food waiting for him when he came in, so he decided to make her something, too.

As he was perusing the contents of the refrigerator his phone rang,

"Cullen."

"Howdy, Cullen. Are you at Shirley's?"

"Whitlock! Yeah, I made it back in one piece. Listen, I'm sorry about today, man. The Night Stalker called me and he was saying some weird shit that put me on high alert."

"I just wanted to say something to you, Cullen."

"Say anything you need to, man"

"I'm proud of you."

"What? Why?"

"You let go today. I know you know what I mean."

He got quiet and thought about what Whitlock was saying, "Yeah. I guess I did."

There was a pause.

"Listen, man. Don't get sappy on me. We can only have so much male-bonding in one day, then people get suspicious." Whitlock laughed and agreed to get back to the manly talk.

"So, have you guys been bombarded with calls today? Any good leads."

"Absolutely. We have a few dozen messages for you already."

"Anything worth pursuing?"

"Well, I don't know. There was a Frederico Gonzalez that wanted to know if you were available for a dinner date to discuss the…details of the case. There was also a Roberta Templeton that said if you needed a nude model for another sketch she'd be glad to volunteer. I tried to explain it doesn't work that way. But, she was insistent. Do you want her number?"

"Jesus Christ, Whitlock. Tell me you're kidding."

"If only I were." He was snickering loudly on the phone.

"That's okay, smart-ass. Remember you're doing the next press conference. Let's see how funny you think that shit is."

Jasper became quiet, "Edward, I have a few ideas about what we should do next. But, I have a feeling you need a little break. Sooo, you're going to be spending time with Bella tonight, huh?"

"Of course, Whitlock. She's in my care."

"Uh, huh. Well, I'll make sure I call before I come over." He was stifling a laugh.

"Whitlock, are you trying to imply I'm anything but professional?"

"Oh, I would never do that. Sweet dreams, partnah!" He ended the call.

****DBW****

As he was finishing up the dinner he prepared for Isabella and Amanda, he heard Amanda stirring around in the bedroom. He came into his grandmother's room and she was looking at the collection of movies and holding _Cars _in her hand.

"Hey, little lady. You're already up. You didn't sleep long."

"I'm not sleepy anymore. Can I watch _Cars_? Mater is my favorite! Bella won't mind." She gave him the innocent wide eyes and she was bouncing a little.

He wasn't fooled. He had been duped before by his niece and received the wrath of Rosalie. So, he kneeled down to talk to her eye to eye.

"Are you sure your sister won't mind? You know what will happen if I do something she doesn't want me to don't you?"

Amanda's eyes grew big and she said, "What?"

"She'll get mad at me and put me on punishment for a whole month."

Amanda scoffed at him, "You're telling a story, Edward. Grown-ups don't punish grown-ups." She giggled at him, but she walked up to him and touched his cheek. "I wouldn't get you in trouble. Bella won't mind."

He nodded and put the movie on for her. "I'm trusting you." She patted his cheek again and climbed onto the love seat and became completely engrossed in her favorite movie.

He didn't want to leave Amanda alone, but he didn't want to interrupt her while she was watching her movie, so he sat down next to her and explained that he would be gone about five minutes to walk Bella upstairs. Flashes of those same words being said to him before his mother walked out of his life caused him to pause. An overwhelming feeling of panic washed over him, but he calmed himself down and went over in his head the fact that she was in the safest place possible right now.

He quickly grabbed his shoulder holster and went down to meet his Isabella. When he walked in she was on the phone, but when she saw him she immediately put it down and walked right up to him. All he could see was her until Charlotte reminded him they weren't alone in the world.

Their dinner together felt like routine. He was amazed because they had only known each other for such a short while. Obviously, Isabella and Amanda were sharing a secret that involved him, but she wouldn't reveal it to him until he told her about what happened with the interviews that day. He was dreading telling her everything, but somewhere in his mind, he thought she would be happy about the things he did that day. Surely she would see he did it all for her.

However, her reaction and her thought that there was a scheme behind his simple idea to return her favor from earlier and make her feel as good as he did when she came home from work, literally broke his heart. He had to remind himself that she didn't know how he felt about her and Amanda. When she fell and eventually passed out, he knew that whatever ideas about God putting her in his life may have been coupled with the fact that she was being cursed by him being in hers.

****DBW****

**A/N: Okay folks. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know if you do or don't. If you like it, tell a friend. :) Thanks for all the reviews. They really inspire me to keep going. **


	8. Chapter 8

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

Chapter 8 – The New Plan

When Bella came to, she was surrounded by people. She had to get her bearings as to where she was. She was in Shirley's room on the first floor. She suddenly remembered that she cut her arm and quickly lifted it to find it was neatly bandaged and her arm was cleaned up. She was in another clean jersey of Edward's and actually felt okay.

When she looked to her left she saw there was an extremely tall and muscular Native American-looking man in a tuxedo with his shirt unbuttoned and his bow tie hanging to the side sitting in a chair next to her bed.

"Hi, Bells. Remember me?" He smiled the most striking white smile, especially against the backdrop of his smooth deeply tan skin. His hair was cut short and stylishly coifed. He had an air of importance and competence about him, but there was something oddly familiar. It was the way he said her name and that smile.

"J-Jacob?" He nodded. "What the…How in the…What are you doing…here?" She jumped out of the bed, landed in his lap and grabbed him in a death grip of a hug. He chuckled at her after he let out an 'oompf' and said,

"My spirit separated from my body and found you being held in a man's arms bleeding. So, I came running." She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Okay. Edward called me in the middle of a fund-raising dinner for a children's hospital and I came running. But, I didn't know he was protecting our little Swan." She smiled, nodded and really looked at his face. He was gigantic, had a few stray gray hairs at his temples now and his hair wasn't in a long ponytail, but he was still Jacob. His father and her father were best friends while she was growing up in Forks. She used to play with his twin sisters, Rebecca and Rachel. They all followed him around like little puppy dogs. He was their big brother by ten years.

The Blacks were Quileute, a Native American tribe in Washington, and lived on a reservation by a beach called La Push. Bella used to practically live there during the summers. She looked at her arm and back at him,

"You're a doctor?"

He laughed at her, "I sure hope so, Bells. Or, I would be in a whole lot of trouble for practicing medicine on your arm there."

She heard a throat clear and a voice that was trying to sound angry say, "Hey, get off my man's lap, white girl, before I have to pull all that pretty hair out doing it myself."

Jacob just chuckled and Bella turned to see one of the most beautiful faces with the most hypnotic deep green eyes that she had ever remembered seeing,

"Leah Clearwater?"

Her hair was in a short stylish bob cut that fell just above her ears. She looked mature, however, her hair was still jet black and her skin was still flawless and wrinkle free. She had on a stunning green strapless evening dress that just accented the beauty of her eyes even more. She was Quileute, as well, and used to terrorize Bella when she was a kid. But, one day she saw Bella being picked on by an older girl in front of the grocery store and she immediately jumped in and defended her. After that, they had a pretty good relationship.

"It's Leah Black now, beautiful girl." Bella jumped up and almost knocked her over hugging her. They looked at each other smiling and Leah kissed her on the forehead. "So, I see you're still a magnet for trouble and clumsy as hell." Bella blushed and looked down. Leah lifted her chin up smiling, "You also still blush like a ripe tomato."

She smiled at her and said, "And you're still as gorgeous and snippy as ever. If I recall, most of that was aimed at Jacob over there."

She laughed loudly and said quietly, "Those were just puppy love snips."

"Oh, I see." They both chuckled.

She finally broke away to look for Edward and Amanda. When she turned around, she saw that Amanda was sitting on an uncharacteristically quiet Alice's lap. Amanda jumped up and hugged Bella.

"The nice big man fixed your arm and gave me a sucker." Bella grabbed her hand and introduced her little sister to Jacob and Leah. Jacob looked up at Bella after he pinched Amanda's nose and whispered in her ear.

"We must talk about this later." Bella nodded at him and looked over at Alice. She walked over and sat next to her on the love seat.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came with Jazz. Edward called." She looked down like she didn't want to look in Bella's eyes. Then, there was a light knock on the open door before Jasper walked all the way in.

"Hey ya'll. You're up, Bella. How're you feeling?" He walked over and sat on the love seat next to her and Alice.

She looked around at everyone and they all looked uncomfortable.

"I feel fine. I've never been able to take the smell of blood. I just passed out. I'm fine."

She finally remembered what got her into this predicament.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry. Shirley's crystal. I have to clean it up."

Alice put an amazingly strong hand on her arm holding her down and said, "You stay put, lady. Edward cleaned it up."

She was still looking around nervously when she asked, "Is Edward in the diner…trying to escape my crazy behavior. I wanted to apologize to him again."

Alice piped up, "Edward left Bella. He asked for Jasper to take you to our parents' house in Naperville. He feels confident you'll be safe there." Alice was fuming.

Bella looked at Jasper with wide eyes and he volunteered with an anxious demeanor that he had never exhibited before, "He didn't want you…"

Bella interrupted before he finished, "He didn't want me?"

Jasper shook his head vehemently, "He didn't want you to be upset by his presence, so he decided that he would leave and send some top notch security over to guard you at his parents' house."

Jacob and Leah were watching her sympathetically. Amanda was looking at her with a look of confusion. Alice gently released Amanda from her lap and stood up.

Bella felt extremely guilty. Her reaction to him trying to make sure she and everyone she loved were safe was horrible. Everything just came down on her at once and he was in the line of fire. She didn't want him to leave. Everything had gone terribly wrong.

"Let's get you guys out of here." Alice scrunched up her nose and said, "Does anyone else smell a wet dog smell?"

Jacob's cheeks turned a little red and he raised his hand, "That would be me. I had to rush home and get my medical bag and my dog, who decided to show me love, had been doing laps in the pool. I didn't have time to change clothes."

Bella looked confused because she didn't smell a thing. Alice looked a little embarrassed for asking, but relieved she knew the source of the smell.

"It's no big deal, Jacob. I just thought I was losing my mind for a second there."

She started taking charge again while Jasper just sat there with a huge grin on his face, "Okay, Jacob and Leah, can you please sit with Amanda in the living room while we get prepared to get everyone out of here?"

Jacob nodded and guided Leah and Amanda gently out of the room.

Alice closed the door behind them and pulled the Glock out of the panel in the wall as she had done before. She went to the other sconce and pulled out a similar weapon and handed it and the full clip to Bella.

Bella's eyes widened and she looked at it, "You want me to carry, Alice?"

She nodded nonchalantly, "You said you know how to shoot before. Does that make you uncomfortable?"

"No. I'm comfortable with guns. I grew up around them. I'm licensed to carry in Washington and Arizona. But, Illinois' laws are so strict; I didn't even bother applying here. The situation before would be a case of trespassing and self-defense. Am I right, Jasper?"

Jasper, who was preparing his own weapon, looked up at Bella and winked, "I won't tell on you or Alice."

Alice put her arms around Bella's shoulders and said, "Most likely we won't have to use it. It's just a precaution. We'll be on the road before you know it."

Jasper gave her an extra belt holster and helped her attach it. She placed the loaded Glock against the small of her back and walked into the living room.

Jasper announced, "Let's rock and roll people. We're taking the elevator down to the basement where three officers, including me, and two private security officers will escort you to your cars that have been parked out front. Jacob and Leah, once everything is clear you can be on your way. Does that make sense?"

They both nodded and Jacob walked over to Bella and asked for her cell phone. He programmed his number in and said,

"We have to get together and talk as soon as we can, Bells. You have to meet the kids." He smiled widely.

Leah said, "I'm a professor at U of C, Bella. I head the Native American studies department in the Sociology building. Whenever you can, please stop by and see me or call me. Just ask for Dr. Black when you walk into the main floor of the Sociology building. They'll direct you."

Leah programmed her own cell phone number into her phone. Bella hugged them both. They all piled into the small elevator. She would've laughed at Jacob trying his best to shrink into the back wall, but everything was too nerve wracking.

They walked into the well lit basement that was piled with canned goods, dry goods, and other items for storage. They approached a door that opened up to a flight of stairs that led up to street level. The officers and security were waiting at the top. Jasper guided all of the civilians to go ahead of him. They walked up the stairs and were all surrounded by a human wall as Jacob and Leah got into their black Cadillac Escalade. Alice asked Bella if she could drive Amanda and Bella nodded yes as she eyed the yellow Porsche that Alice was walking towards. She thought to herself,

"_I hope she doesn't drive like she talks."_

Bella climbed into Jasper's pick-up and they were on their way. The calm that Bella normally felt around Jasper was not there. She looked at him out of her periphery as he programmed the Naperville address into his GPS.

He finally looked at her and said, "Bella, Edward is going through some things right now. Alice is going to talk to him. She knows where he is. It's not dangerous for Amanda. She's hoping that she'll be bringing Edward back with her."

Bella's eyes became teary, "I did this. I told him that he may never find this killer and yelled at him out of frustration. Then, I broke his grandmother's crystal and fell because I'm so freakin' clumsy."

Jasper reached out and touched her arm, "Bella, Edward didn't leave because of you. Well, in a way he did. But, he's gonna have to explain everything to you." He reached out and squeezed her hand. "It's definitely not because you yelled at him."

They became quiet until Bella broke the silence, "So, I overheard that Edward's parents were on vacation. Will they be home?"

He nodded, "They decided to cut their vacation short. They're home."

She gulped because she was meeting her crush's parents.

"They're okay with me staying there? Is it safe for them?"

Jasper laughed, "Have you met Edward? That place could safely hide the President of these United States. It locks up tight."

****DBW****

Bella had been to Naperville before several times to get Amanda enrolled in school. It looked like a nice upscale suburb, but it was also a college town. North Central College was a small private liberal arts college that drew young people from all over the country. There were parts of the town that were specifically geared towards them and there were parts of the town that were geared towards the lifelong residents.

She didn't know what to expect to see when she saw the Cullens' house. The residential street that Jasper pulled onto had old Victorian style homes that looked like they were the homes of professors or other college bigwigs. Most of them were some shade of white, yellow, or blue with wrap around porches, columns and gables. However, at the center of the horse-shoe shaped cul-de-sac and set back off the street by a winding driveway was a tall stone wall with an iron gate. Jasper pulled up to the gate and entered a security code. He drove in and pulled into the property where a woman was waiting at the front door of one of the most modern-looking homes she had seen in Naperville, so far. It was three stories and all grayish-white smooth stone. Where there wasn't stone, there was glass and the house was completely surrounded by trees and shrubbery of all kinds. It was all sharp angles and clean lines.

Bella could only mutter, "Wow! This is not what I expected."

Jasper smiled, "Wait until you see the inside."

She jumped down from Jasper's truck and let him guide her to the house. He stopped her and quickly pulled the gun holster off of her belt.

He winked at her, "I don't think you'll be needing that now." She had almost forgotten she was wearing a gun.

The woman she was approaching was standing in front of the doorway bathed in the light coming from inside the home, which made her look somewhat ethereal. She had reddish brown hair similar to Edward's, but with more red than brown. She had blue-grey eyes that reminded one of steel, but they weren't cold or hard-looking. Her face was slightly tanned from the vacation, Bella supposed. She had a soft motherly look that made Bella feel somewhat sad and warm at the same time. Her hair was cut in a stylish bob that hung to her shoulders. She had on a light knit white sweater with tan pants and tan flats. She wasn't adorned with a great deal of jewelry. She had on a simple gold chain and a gold wedding band. She looked comfortable, yet elegant.

Her eyes honed in on Bella and she smiled widely, "You must be the Isabella that I keep hearing so many good things about. I'm Edward's mother, Esme."

Bella held out her hand and stopped herself from curtsying, "Nice to meet you, Mrs…..I mean, Esme. You can call me, Bella. It's just Bella."

Esme slapped her hand away and pulled her in for a tight hug. She now knew where Alice got her hugging skills from. When she finally released her, Esme cupped her face in both of her hands and looked into her eyes, "You are such a lovely girl. Are you hungry?"

Bella blushed profusely and said, "No, thank you. I ate. I'm not hungry." Esme grabbed her hand and said, "Well, we'll have some tea."

She turned to Jasper and patted his cheek, "Hey handsome."

He blushed, "Howdy, Esme."

They all walked in and Esme secured the door and turned on the alarm. Then a deep voice called from the hallway and said,

"Was that them, hon?"

Esme rolled her eyes at the voice, "Yes. Who else would it be, Carlisle?"

He chuckled at her and walked fully into the room. Bella's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Where Edward was pretty, Carlisle Cullen was ruggedly handsome. He had blond hair, and sky-blue eyes with a strong jaw line. He didn't look a day over forty and Bella knew he had to be older than that. When he came closer he smiled that Colgate smile the whole family seemed to have. She could see a little grey in his hair and a few wrinkles around his eyes, but other than that, there were no indicators of aging. He grabbed her hand gently and said,

"So, you're Isabella?" She nodded wordlessly and he smiled. "Where is little Amanda?"

Bella finally found her voice and said, "She's with Alice. I guess she went to find Edward." She looked down knowing she was the cause of their son's departure.

Carlisle lifted up her chin and said, "Alice knows him better than anybody. She'll bring him home. Don't worry, Isabella."

She smiled up at him and said, "You can call me Bella. Everyone does."

He nodded at her, shook Jasper's hand and they chatted for a minute. He smiled and touched Bella's nose affectionately after he excused himself saying he had something he was working on in his office. Bella stared after him.

Esme chuckled at her and whispered in her ear, "He has the same effect on me after all these years."

Bella was a little embarrassed for getting caught ogling her husband, but Esme made her feel so comfortable that she got over it quickly. They all sat in the kitchen where Jasper happily accepted a Budweiser and Bella and Esme sat down to enjoy some tea.

The silence was comfortable until Esme spoke up, "So, Bella, you're from Forks?"

She swallowed the green tea with honey and said, "Yeah, most people have never heard of it."

She smiled and said, "I've heard of it. I just can't remember from where at this point."

Bella nodded remembering what Alistair said, "Someone told me recently that my father trained Edward's father in D.C."

Esme face lit up with recognition, "Charles Swan? I remember him. He came to Edward Sr.'s funeral. He was a quiet man, but he seemed very kind."

Bella smiled because her father was not a man of many words. However, what he said was usually very important. She cherished the times he would share what he knew about the world with her.

She said softly, "He was…very kind." Esme patted her hand with a look of commiseration.

They sat and chatted for a while until Bella began to yawn. Esme offered to show her where she'd be sleeping after she gave her a tour of the house. Jasper wasn't exaggerating. The house was beautiful. Where it was stone and clean lines outside, it was warm and inviting on the inside. Everything was done in soft creams, tans and browns with accents of color on the wall, the art, and the throw pillows. There was one wall that was floor to ceiling glass. It showcased the landscaping in the back of the house, which was dense and lush with trees and other greenery.

As they were ascending the stairs, Esme pointed out different family portraits, particularly those with Edward in them. Apparently, Alice had her own wing on the first floor. The second floor was Emmett's floor. She pointed out that Emmett had a room dedicated to his trophies and sports memorabilia on that floor. The third floor was Edward's floor. He had a music room on his floor and the hallway had framed articles about his music scholarship to the University of Chicago and his high school football wins as quarterback. She was shocked that a man who was so gifted at music as to be offered a scholarship would opt to be a police officer.

She led her into his bedroom that was decorated similarly to the room at his grandmother's apartment, except there was one wall completely dedicated to shelving that was now empty of its contents. She showed Bella the en suite bath and the walk-in closet. Bella looked down sheepishly. She didn't have anything. Angela wasn't able to get anything from their building because of the break-in. Esme gave her a shoulder hug and said,

"Don't worry. Alice went shopping for you as soon as she found out about the break-in. She'll be bringing some things for you and Amanda."

Bella couldn't believe how generous these people were being. They barely knew her. But, she was grateful for it.

"Esme thanks so much for all you're doing here. It's very kind of you to put me and my sister up this way."

Esme looked at her and said, "Anyone that's cared about so deeply by my son is of the utmost importance to us."

Bella didn't really understand what she meant or why she thought that Edward cared for her as more than just another victim of this serial killer, but she didn't want to look a gift-horse in the mouth. While she was in this moment with Esme she thought she would ask her about the woman in the picture.

"So, does his girlfriend ever get angry when he has to…bring his work home, so to speak?"

Esme looked really confused and said, "Well, I suppose if he had a girlfriend, she would have to be very understanding of his work. Why did you ask about a girlfriend?"

Bella began to blush again, but decided that she might as well stuff her entire foot in her mouth.

"Who is that woman who looks like a cheerleader in the picture at Shirley's apartment?"

Esme scowled a little, "That's Tanya. They dated about a year ago now. She still comes around occasionally. But, she's not his girlfriend…thank God."

Bella thought about the fact that he didn't lie and he must not have been dreaming about Tanya when he said 'mine' in his sleep. Butterflies filled her stomach at the thought that it could have been her he was thinking about. She didn't want to get her hopes up, so she decided she would file this information away for a later time.

"So, you and Amanda can sleep here, if you'd like. Or, you can sleep on Emmett's level. It's up to you. Make yourself at home."

"Esme, I kind of wanted to wait up for Amanda and Alice. Is it okay with you if I wait downstairs?"

"Sure! I'll wait up with you." Esme grabbed her hand and winded it through the crook of her elbow and they walked back down to the main floor.

They sat on the couch together and Esme showed her pictures of the kids when they were younger. She saw pictures of an adorable chubby eight-year old Edward, with a gap-toothed smile, huge green eyes, and a little curly afro. Just when she thought she couldn't fall for him any more than she already had, those pictures made her want to hug him and kiss his cheeks. Bella talked about growing up in Forks and then moving to Phoenix after her father passed. Eventually, Carlisle and Jasper joined them on the couch and Jasper kept them laughing with tales of growing up in Amarillo, Texas. As soon as he was about to regale them with a story about a playa lake, a snake, and his new BB gun, they heard the beep that announces the gate code had been entered. The television screen automatically turned to a four-way image of the driveway. They saw a yellow Porsche come into view and Esme announced,

"Well, I see Alice is home." It was 11p.m. and Esme jumped up to welcome her youngest.

Less than a minute later, Alice walked in with a sleeping Amanda holding Davie and an extra teddy bear, with Edward following behind carrying shopping bags.

****DBW****

Edward's eyes were a little puffy and he looked extremely tired. He tried to take Amanda from Alice, but she slapped his hand away. She walked up to Bella and whispered something in her ear. Bella nodded, Alice kissed her parents good night and motioned for Jasper to follow her.

Edward stood there sheepishly not really looking at anyone. Bella sat on the couch with her head down. Esme walked up to him and caught his eye.

"Are you going to stand there in the foyer, or are you going to come inside and relax like you're at home?" He bent down and hugged his mother.

"Hi, mom. Welcome home. I'm sorry you felt you had to cut your trip short."

She looked at him like he was insane and said to him, "Sometimes I think you forget you're my flesh and blood. I love you, Edward. I don't love you more than Alice and Emmett, but my sister's blood runs through your veins. That makes you special to me. It doesn't matter where I am in the world. I'll always be there when you need me, as long as I'm alive."

He hugged her a little tighter and nodded. "You're the second person tonight to remind me of that fact."

"Go talk to Bella. You two have things to get out in the open. You may want to talk to her about Tanya." Esme winked at him, walked over and gave Bella a good night hug, and dragged Carlisle away with her. Edward was completely confused as to how Bella would know anything about Tanya and why they were talking about her of all people.

He stood there with his head down shuffling his foot back and forth like a little kid. Bella had to suppress a laugh by covering her mouth with her hand. He eventually started walking towards her and sat next to her on the couch.

He finally looked at her and asked quietly, "How's your arm?"

"My arm is fine, Edward. I just can't take the smell of blood. I even passed out when they did blood typing in biology in high school and that was just a little prick."

He nodded and gently lifted her arm to take a look at it. He smiled; apparently satisfied that she was really okay. He looked at the side of her head and volunteered,

"When you passed out your head hit the side of the sink. But, I think I caught you before any real damage was done."

He sat there examining her and checking for more damage. She stopped him,

"Edward, I'm fine. You worry too much." He gave her the oddest look and slightly shook his head like he was trying to clear it of an image.

She inched closer to him and grabbed his hand, "I'm so sorry for the way I reacted. Everything was coming down on me at once and I took it out on you. You were only trying to make sure everybody was safe. You didn't deserve that."

He looked in her eyes like he was searching for something, "Isabella, I didn't even give you a chance to decide what you wanted to do, or give you a chance to give me any input. I just took control like I always do. I'm the one that's sorry."

"Yeah, you probably should have given me some say, but I understand why you did it. What I really don't understand is why you left."

He looked at her and took a deep breath as though he had resolved himself to telling her everything, "I left because I was being irrational. I thought that the reason why all of these things were happening to you was because of your association with me. Everyone I…care for dies. Well, not everyone, but enough people to make me think it's not a good idea to be around me for very long."

"So, you left to protect me?"

He nodded and looked at her as though he were pleading for her to understand.

She touched his cheek and he closed his eyes and leaned into her hand.

"I don't think you understand that I…need to know you're okay, too. I don't feel safe when you're not around. Also, I know you're going to catch this killer. I hate that I indicated to you that I had doubts."

"Listen, you have every right to have doubts. I have doubts. That's why I turned everything over to Jasper. I don't want you to feel like you can't tell me how you feel because you're afraid to hurt my feelings. I can take it."

They sat facing each other on the couch; one touching the other in some way as though they were extensions of each other. Their special electricity was there comforting and warming them. Edward's eyes started to shut.

"I am so tired, Isabella."

She coaxed him to lie down on her lap by putting a throw pillow from the couch on her lap and patting it. He kicked off his shoes and lay down. She gently pulled the elastic band out of his hair and began to rake her fingers through it and rub his scalp. He let out a soft sigh of contentment and sunk deeper into her lap.

He asked her how she knew Jacob, as he was playing with the fingers on one of her hands, and she told him about growing up in Forks and how much time she spent on the Quileute reservation by the ocean. He told her about the twins and how Rebecca wanted to work with Jacob at his family practice as an OB/Gyn when she finished her residency at Northwestern Memorial and that Rachel was on the way to becoming an Endocrinologist in Hawaii where she lived with her husband. They talked about how Billy Black's death, their father and Charlie Swan's best friend, had affected all of his kids in different ways and Edward started to drift to sleep.

When it looked like he was about to really fall into a coma-like sleep, she tried to ease herself out from under him and go up the stairs to bed after she found out where Amanda was and check on her. As soon as she moved, he wrapped his arms around her waist holding her down and mumbled,

"_No. Mine."_

She smiled at him and shook him gently,

"Edward, we should go to bed." He smiled and nodded. He turned his head and kissed her on her stomach and his right hand slid up her shirt under her bra and his thumb found her nipple with a soft caress and the nub became hardened under his touch.

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head from his gentleness, his hands on her bare skin, and the heat from his nearness. His head was dangerously close to a part of her that was literally weeping to be touched by him. However, reality set in and she realized she was sitting in the middle of the great room of his parents' house being felt up by their oldest son. She didn't think that was a good first impression to leave on anyone. She finally wiggled free of his arms and his lips turned down into a pout.

He moaned, _"You promised." _She quietly laughed at him and shook him a little harder,

"Edward. Edward, sweetheart. We should go upstairs and figure out the sleeping arrangements."

He mumbled, _"What arrangements? You sleep with me…only me. I love you."_

She gasped and really looked at this man; this man that she knew she loved with every fiber of her being even though it had only been a little over a day since she met him. She saw that he had a cut above his left eyebrow. She wanted to know who or what hurt him and make them pay. She looked at the puffiness around his eyes and wondered what made him cry, this man that could be ferocious like a lion at times, but sweet like a boy at others. She would never leave his side. He was hers as much as she was his; even if it was only in his dreams. She didn't know if he really knew how he felt, but she knew she did. She pulled an afghan off the back of the couch and covered him snugly like she would do for Amanda. She decided to sleep on Emmett's floor because the third floor would be too far away from her Edward. She searched around the first floor until she found Alice's room. She quietly opened the door and she found Amanda and Alice in bed. Jasper was sleeping quietly in a chair by the window.

She took one last look at Edward before she went to get some sleep because tomorrow was the start of the rest of her life, no matter how long or short it was.

****DBW****

When she woke up Edward was there sitting in a chair across from her. She smiled a lazy smile at him. Then, she jumped up realizing that she wasn't at Shirley's apartment, or her own apartment. It finally dawned on her where she was…Naperville. Edward was watching her curiously. However, he handed her a cup of coffee that was sitting on the nightstand.

He smiled that half-smile that makes her girly parts melt. Then, she slapped her hand over her mouth and asked if he had an extra toothbrush. His shoulders shook with his laughter because toothbrush came out "toofbruss" with her voice muffled behind her hand. He told her that Alice had brought toiletries with her and they were on Emmett's bathroom counter.

She walked out of the bathroom and he was still sitting in the chair with his head down, but when he heard her come out his head lifted and he smiled at her. He had obviously showered and changed before he came in the room. She could smell his clean chocolate-like and spicy scent. He had on a blue University of Chicago hoodie with matching sweat pants and he was barefoot. She laughed internally thinking that even his feet are pretty. His hair was in disarray hanging around his shoulders. His green eyes were twinkling at her, as he smiled.

"Come here." He said it so softly that she didn't think she heard him right at first. Then, he held out his hand. The attraction her body felt and the love her heart felt for him pulled her forward like a magnet. She stood in front of him nervously holding his hand until he gently tugged her forward and asked her to sit down.

She was confused at first because there wasn't much room on the chair, so she thought he must've meant the ottoman. She went to sit on the ottoman, but he scoffed at her and swiftly stood up picking her up with him and sitting her gently in his lap as he set back down. She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder.

He leaned back in the chair, put his feet up and started to rock them back and forth. She hadn't realized it was a rocking chair. He was humming some really pretty song in her ear and she was on her way back to sleep until he spoke,

"My mom said we needed to talk about Tanya? How do you know her?"

She looked up at him as he was gazing into her eyes and her brilliant response was,

"Huh?"

He snickered at her, "You were asking my mom about Tanya Williams. Do you know her?"

She blushed and he ran his finger over her cheek, "What in the world are you thinking to make you blush like that?"

"I wasn't thinking anything in particular. I was just asking your mom about a woman I saw you with in a picture in your grandmother's apartment. I thought she may have been your girlfriend or something." She was looking everywhere but his eyes.

He lifted her chin and looked at her with a mixture of affection and confusion, "Isabella, you asked me if I had a wife or girlfriend and I told you I didn't. Did you think I would lie to you?"

Her eyes looked down, but he searched them out until his locked with hers again.

"I just thought maybe you thought it was none of my business."

He hugged her closer and said, "Well, I was telling you the truth. The last woman I dated was Tanya. She is a Honey Bear for the Chicago Bears. We dated for six months, but I found out she was cheating on me the whole time. We broke up last year, but she's been showing up at birthday parties and other things claiming Rosalie was inviting her. I recently asked her to stay away from my family, but that wasn't the first time I've asked her to."

The only thing Bella could hear out of all that was, "she was cheating on me the whole time." She was fuming inside. Why would anybody hurt her Edward like that?

"Did you ever cheat on her?"

He looked at her very intensely and said, "No. I'm a one woman man, Isabella. I went through my period of dating casually, friends with benefits, booty-calls, or whatever. But, when I'm with somebody in a relationship, that's it. I'm out of the game."

"So, why would she hurt you like that?" She was getting angrier by the second.

"She claimed I wasn't there for her emotionally. But, that doesn't explain why she was screwing everything with a penis that was nearby and breathing. I probably was closed off, in a way. But, that's because I didn't know if I could trust her. Go figure. It was a bad relationship."

"Did you love her?" Bella didn't know why she wanted to torture herself this way, but she needed to know.

"I thought I may have at one point. But, now I know better." He smiled at her adoringly and brushed some hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear.

"So, what about you? Are there any crazy boyfriends lurking in the shadows I should be aware of. You know…for your safety's sake." He chuckled at her, but then his face turned serious.

"I've only had three boyfriends in my life. My last boyfriend was someone I met at one of my last jobs. He would come in every day and he seemed like a nice guy. He would flirt and bring me flowers. I had never had anyone devote so much time and attention to me. He finally asked me out and we had a good time."

"What was his name?" His grip tightened on her slightly and he slowed down the rocking.

"His name was Robert Stefani. He was Italian and very proud of his heritage. He claimed he was pure this or that. I didn't care, but I didn't see a problem with a man being proud of his ethnicity. Anyway, he claimed he owned a transportation company; he was single, and looking for someone to settle down with. I was flattered and he was so nice at first. So, I…we were intimate."

She grabbed one of Edward's hands and braved through her story.

"I introduced him to Angela, but something inside me told me not to introduce him to my sister, yet. Angela thought he was okay. He put on the charm for her in front of her face. But, as soon as he got in his car and started on the way to the restaurant for our date, he started talking about how "Hispanics" are taking over the country and we need to enforce the immigration laws. I commented that I thought it was odd that the son of immigrants would feel that way. He gave me the 'are you crazy' look and said that wasn't the same."

"For some idiotic reason, I kept dating him. He finally asked me what my background was and I told him I was part German and part Welsh. He mumbled that he would have sworn I was at least part Italian, like I had let him down by being who I am. The last straw was when we were walking around Hyde Park and he saw a cute couple, black guy and white lady, with the most adorable little boy swinging between their hands. I stopped and smiled at them, but when I turned back to him, he was fuming. He said that she was a "waste of a good white woman."

"We finally had it out because I was tired of his bullshit and he became really aggressive with me and slammed me up against the wall of the building we were standing by. I kneed him in the balls and told him to take his bigoted hateful ass back to wherever he came from and find a pure blood to mate with like the animal he is." She was looking down ashamed.

"Isabella, if you didn't trust him to meet Amanda and if he insulted Angela, why did you keep going out with him?"

"I don't know, Edward. I ask myself that over and over again. I thought maybe if he got to know Angela, he would love her despite his…attitudes. How could someone not love Angela? I was being really stupid. But, that wasn't the worst part."

He shook his head at her berating herself and frowned. She continued.

"Everything he said was a lie. He was married with two kids. He had the audacity to bring them into the restaurant while I was working and he sat there smirking at me the whole time. The part that kills me is that he knew…he knew I wouldn't tell his wife. I slept with a married man. Angela wanted to hunt him down and break his kneecaps once I told her what was really going on."

He twisted her around in his lap so she was facing him and asked, "I knew I liked Angela for a reason. Robert Stefani? Are you sure that was his real name?"

She nodded, "That was the name on his credit cards and driver's license."

She finally really looked at Edward to see what he thought of her. There was a look of intense anger on his face that scared her a little.

"Edward, what's wrong?"

He finally focused on her again, "He slammed you against a wall?"

She put her hands on his face to get him to focus back on her, "It's in the past, Edward. It's been over for three years and I haven't dated anyone since. I promised myself that I'd never bring someone into Amanda's or Angela's life that couldn't love them as much as I do…period."

She had also promised herself that her 'vajayjay,' as Angela would put it, was on lock-down until she was sure the man she was with was committed to her and only her and vice versa.

"I just want to make sure that if he really owns a company, all of his licenses are up to date. How do you spell his last name?" He was still scowling and Bella began to laugh at him.

"You know, I thought my father was bad. I think you may have him beat for the over protectiveness award." She was thinking that her father would've really liked him over time. He was suspicious of everyone at first.

He finally focused back on her and said, "Isabella, you weren't stupid. You were young. How old were you twenty-one or something? He was a predator. Bastards like that pick their prey. Don't beat yourself up about it. He cheated on his wife…not you. I promise you that wasn't the first time." He was breathing hard when he finished talking.

She breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't run away screaming and eventually he settled back in the chair and began to rock them again. Then, he stopped abruptly and sat up.

"Damn! I almost forgot why I came up here." He kissed her forehead and said, "You distracted me." They smiled at each other.

"Jasper wants us to meet him downstairs so he can go over a new plan he's come up with for catching this guy."

They started to stand and stretch and it was comfortably quiet until Bella spoke up,

"Edward? Can I ask you something?"

"Yep. You can ask me anything."

"Why do you call me Isabella instead of Bella? I know you've heard me correct everybody else."

He looked at her cautiously, "Do you mind that I call you Isabella?"

"No. If you noticed, I've never corrected you. I like the way you say my name. I just…wondered."

"Well, I like to have special names for special people. I call Alice 'Mae Mae.' Emmett is my big ole 'Animal.' I didn't want to call you what everyone else does. So, I use your full name. Besides, your name is beautiful."

She smiled big. She was a special person to him.

"That makes sense. Let's go, Edward. They're probably wondering what we're doing up here." She turned beet red and he laughed outright at her.

"Hmmm…that was an interesting blush." She slapped his shoulder lightly.

He reached out for her hand and she took it as they walked down the stairs together.

****DBW****

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they heard the din of people talking, laughing, and eating. They could smell the distinct aroma of eggs and bacon in the air. She found it odd how life still goes on like clockwork even if some parts are going horribly wrong. Bella's stomach growled. Edward teased her,

"I was gonna ask if you're hungry, but your stomach already answered for you. That was loud. You sure you don't have a little alien living in there?" He put his hand on her stomach and leaned in like he was listening for more sounds.

"There's the jerk I've gotten used to. Feed me, detective!"

He stopped, stood up and slowly smiled, "I like it when you call me that. I'll have to file that away for another time."

She blushed and he snickered at her and put his hand gently on the small of her back and she playfully elbowed him in the stomach…the rock hard and defined six-pack that she saw the other day…

She had to stop herself from going on another tangent. As soon as Amanda saw her she jumped out of her chair and nearly knocked her down with all of her enthusiasm. She beamed up at Edward, too. He picked her up high in the air. She squealed and he put her down still giggling.

Bella asked, "Did you eat already?"

She nodded enthusiastically, "Esme made my favorite; pancakes and sausage."

She grabbed both of their hands and lifted her legs up to swing. They stood there swinging her for a few seconds and then she broke free.

"Uncle Emmett does it much better all by himself. You two must need more sleep."

Everyone started laughing at them and Bella couldn't help but laugh, too.

"I was wondering when you two were coming down. Five more minutes and I thought I was gonna have to send up a rescue party." Jasper drawled at them and winked at Edward.

Emmett laughed loudly, "Only five minutes, huh? Poor Bella. It's been a while. Things'll get better."

All at once, Esme and Rosalie slapped him on the back of the head. He rubbed it and looked at them like he didn't know what he just said. Bella looked at Edward and he was mouthing so Amanda couldn't hear,

"_I'm gonna whoop your ass."_

"Pffft, as if. I'm more scared of ma, Rosie and little Bellie Mae over there than you, Monster. You're getting kind of scrawny in your old age."

Edward huffed at him and gently guided Bella towards the kitchen where the food was waiting for them.

Edward handed her a plate and, thankfully, let her fix it herself. She smiled at the memory of him piling food on her plate and she shook her head a little when it dawned on her that was only two days ago.

"Edward, did your brother just call me 'Bellie Mae,'or did I hear him wrong."

Edward sighed in exasperation, "Unfortunately, you didn't hear him wrong. He'll try out new names on you until one sticks in his twisted little mind. Then, you'll be stuck with it forever." She smiled at the thought of being in his family long enough to have a nick name stick forever.

"Well, how did Monster come about?"

He smiled, "We watched the Muppets a lot when we were coming up. When we were in Little League together people said the two of us were ferocious, like a couple of bear cubs. So, one day, after a particularly wild tackle I called him Animal. He started calling me Monster because he couldn't narrow it down to one and it stuck. Eventually, the coach put it on our jerseys."

"Aww, so you're nick named after the Muppets?" She giggled at the thought of the little lovable monsters she grew up watching, as well.

His cheeks took on a slightly red tinge, "The meaning has changed over the years. Trust me, you don't want to know." His finger did a couple of circles in the air around his right ear indicating his brother was loopy.

Alice piped up from one of the chairs at the kitchen island, "Well, if that ain't the pot calling the kettle black."

"I didn't see you over there, Mae Mae. You're unusually quiet this morning."

Bella and Edward both turned to look at her. Her face was devoid of make-up, she still had on her pjs with big fuzzy slippers and her hair was a bird's nest. Edward stifled a laugh and Bella hit him on the arm. She thought Alice was adorable, even when she wasn't all made up. He nodded and stopped the big guffaws, but kept snickering intermittently.

Alice lazily gave him the finger.

"Anyway, the little whirlwind you call a sister damn near suffocated me in my sleep, Bella."

Bella's eyes widened and she immediately apologized, "I should have told you she's a wild sleeper. Did she do any major damage?" She looked over what skin she could see to see if there were any bruises.

"Nah. Nothing a few cups of java and a hot shower won't cure. I had to sleep at the end of the bed and let her have the top half." She chuckled.

Bella thanked Alice for taking her and she waved her off.

"It was my pleasure. I had a great time talking to her yesterday. We have to go shopping and do a girls day out once this nonsense is over." Bella agreed despite the fact she hated shopping. Suddenly, a pang shot through her chest because Angela normally was the one who dragged her shopping on the weekends against her will. Alice left to get dressed for the day.

Edward and Bella sat at the kitchen island eating. Edward kept snatching bacon off her plate and poking her pancakes and sucking the syrup off his finger. He thought this was hilarious. She was enthralled and disgusted at the same time.

Bella threatened him with her fork and he put up his hands in surrender. She said with mock anger,

"What are you nine? Grow up a little, Edward Cullen. If I knew your middle name, I would use that, too. I'm going to get more bacon. Don't touch my food, or you will pay." She pointed her little finger at him and he grabbed it and kissed it.

She walked away on weak knees. When she came back to the table he had drawn a smiley face on her pancakes with syrup. She couldn't help but laugh at him and shake her head.

"I didn't touch it; the syrup did and it's Anthony."

She looked at him puzzled.

"My middle name is Anthony. Your middle name is Marie, right?" She nodded and sat next to him again.

He kept tickling her side and nibbling on her cheek saying she tastes like strawberries and he loved strawberries with his pancakes. She kept telling him that was gross, but she really loved this side of him and didn't do anything to stop him. Trying to act angry with him was pointless; she was totally failing.

"You know, detective, this is not very professional behavior."

He looked at his wrist.

"I don't turn into a professional man until about 11:30 a.m. I have a couple of hours left."

"You're not even wearing a watch."

"I'm not? Hmmm…what was I looking at then?" She laughed outright at him.

He gave her a reprieve of about five minutes and then he snatched her plate mid-bite and took it to the sink and scraped it. He grabbed his empty plate like he had done nothing wrong and took it to the sink. As he was loading the dishwasher, he looked up at Bella who was standing there holding a fork like a weapon with her arms crossed. He looked at her innocently,

"What? You weren't done?"

She scowled at him, "Have I mentioned that you're kind of a jerk sometimes?"

He chuckled, "Are you still hungry? Well, I guess I'll have to make you and Amanda some lunch then." He winked at her and held out his hand for her after he carefully took the fork away.

****DBW****

They walked out into the great room and Bella noticed that Alistair was there. Alice was there, too, all showered and primped for the day. She walked over to say hello to Alistair. Edward did the same, but he sat and spoke with him for a while as Bella found an empty seat next to Rosalie.

"Hi. It's Rosalie, right?" She spoke to the beautiful woman although she was completely intimidated by her.

"Yes." She nodded and didn't say anything else. Bella was about to find another place to sit when Jasper started speaking.

"Okay, ladies and gentleman. I assume that those who weren't in the loop have been filled in by Alistair. We're all here today to talk about the serial killer, known in the media as The Night Stalker, and how we can stop him from getting to his latest target." His eyes went to Bella.

Alistair spoke up, "Captain Morris stole that name from a show that used to come on about an ordinary guy who hunted monsters at night, but as usual, he didn't get it right."

Jasper and Edward laughed, "Edward and I have talked about that fact ad nauseam, Al. But, he is our captain. We are just peons."

"Okay, these are my ideas and I've gone over them with the captain and he agrees up to a point. I don't think Bella should be hidden away. We'll never find him then. We need to let her go out so he can feel he can get to her."

Bella's eyes widened and Edward shot up off the couch, "Whitlock, can I talk to you for a second."

Jasper looked him square in the eyes and said, "We can talk afterwards to work out the details."

Edward's jaw was flexing which in the little time Bella had known him was never a good thing. Edward sat back down on the edge of the couch. Any jovial mood he was in before had vanished.

"Edward, I think that Bella and Amanda should stay with you at your place and you should go about life as normally as possible with a few exceptions. I think your idea to take time away to watch Bella was an excellent idea. You should drop Amanda off at school and pick her up instead of having her home-schooled" Bella looked around for Amanda, but she noticed Esme was gone and figured she was with her.

"Bella, I think you should go to work. You'll be watched at all times by undercover officers, Edward, and Emmett's private security. You won't make one step outside without several people watching you and making sure you're safe."

"Jasper, I tend to agree with you that keeping me inside won't allow you to catch him, but what about Amanda? After Edward drops her off, who's looking out for her?" After Bella finished speaking she noticed Edward looking at her like she was losing her mind.

"We have three undercover agents there, as we speak. One is posing as an employee and two others will patrol the perimeter."

Edward literally growled his frustration out, "So, Whitlock, your _ideas _amount to dangling Isabella out there as bait and taking chances with her and Amanda's life so we can draw this guy out."

Rosalie jumped in, "I agree with Jasper. I think you guys should let him think he can get what he wants. That makes a helluva lot more sense than putting this family in danger to protect Bambi eyes over there, who we barely know, and putting Carlisle and Esme on a freakin' security detail. How do we even know that she's not in cahoots with this killer guy? It seems kind of odd that she just _happens_ to become employed by Shirley and all hell breaks loose. Oh, and, she just _happens_ to have the _instincts_ not to open the door for this psycho that every other woman that looks like her has been lured by. Also, look how she's latched on to Edward? Does this not remind you of another psycho stalker named Tanya? How do we know she's not some deranged groupie that faked everything to get into our inner circle?

Bella gasped and Edward jumped up and smashed his hand on the coffee table so loudly that everything on it flew off and hit the dark wood floors.

"Whitlock, Rose, follow me….NOW!" Emmett didn't even interfere in that outburst.

****DBW****

All three of them walked into another room and the door slammed so hard it rattled the windows. Everyone had their head down. Bella felt like she was hyperventilating. She stood up and said quietly,

"I'm sorry, Carlisle, for causing so much trouble for this family. Emmett, I swear I didn't know who you were until Jessica Stanley told me. I wanted to work for Shirley because I wanted the opportunity to be a manager before I opened up my own shop. I thought I could learn a lot from a woman that has been in business for as long as she has."

Carlisle started to speak up, but Bella interrupted,

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude. But, can you tell me where Amanda is? We'll just be on our way."

Alice jumped up and ran out the room. An uncommonly serious Emmett spoke up,

"Bella, please stay. I'm sorry about my wife. She's very protective of this family and she tends to say the first thing that comes into her mind."

"There's no need to apologize for Rosalie, Emmett. You can't do that anyway. I think she meant everything she said and if I were in her shoes, I might feel the same way. If you all will excuse me, I'll be upstairs making a few phone calls, if that's okay." Carlisle nodded.

"Can someone please bring me my sister?" She was almost in tears. She had trusted these people with her life…her sister and Angela… and they thought she was helping a serial killer or a crazed fan. Her heart was completely broken.

****DBW****

_**A/N: I promise there is more action coming and not a lot more angst and misunderstandings. Just hang in there. Everything has point. **_


	9. Chapter 9

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

Chapter 9 – The Plan in Action

Rosalie stood in Carlisle's office with her arms folded in an insolent stance, however, she was quiet. Jasper sat in one of the wing-back leather chairs in front of the desk with his head down waiting for the emotional explosion he was expecting from Edward. He knew that he was going to have to convince him that they could keep her safe. But, he was waiting for Edward to calm down.

Edward was pacing and mumbling to himself. He hit his father's mahogany desk with his fist several times and he kicked it for good measure. He didn't think he had done any damage to the desk or his hand, but he really didn't care at that point. When he had finally calmed down enough to see straight, his eyes honed in on Rosalie. He had to remember that Rosalie was family before he said something he could never take back. She didn't know that he loved this woman and she had plenty of reasons to be suspicious of new people.

"Rose, I'm only going to say this once and you can go back out there with your husband because I need to talk to Whitlock about his _plan_. You DO NOT get to tell me how to do my job as a homicide detective. I don't go to your job and tell you how to nurse. I wouldn't be that presumptuous. You're good at your job and you know what you're doing. If there were ANY possibility that Isabella were involved in this, she would not be in this house. I LOVE this family, including you, but right now I don't like you very much. Isabella has been targeted by a serial killer, her best friend is in hiding, her home is a crime scene and her baby sister, who she has raised as her own daughter, is in danger now. She has been invited here as our guest and you will treat her with basic human respect and hospitality, or you can go home."

"Edward, I…"

He pounded his fist on the desk interrupting her, "Rose! Go back out there with Emmett."

She quietly left the room and he had to take deep calming breaths so he could talk again. He finally sat down in his father's office chair. He looked up at Jasper who was looking at him cautiously.

"Edward, this is the plan. Bella cannot be kept in perpetual hiding. She has to come out. That is the only way we can catch him. Even she agrees."

Edward flexed his jaw and lightly pounded on the desk again. He pulled an old Polaroid out of his back pocket and placed it in front of Jasper. He looked at it and smiled, but looked up at Edward with a questioning look.

"That's my father…my biological father." Jasper nodded and asked,

"I can see him in your smile. But, I saw some other pictures and you are the spitting image of your mother. Who's the pretty baby?" Edward gestured for him to turn it over and his eyes widened.

"This is Isabella?" Edward nodded.

"What does 'future D-i-L' mean?

"Future daughter-in-law." Jasper looked up at Edward whose eyes were a little misty.

"Whitlock, she's been connected to me her whole life and most of mine. My father was there the day she was born. I couldn't remember it before, but he would show me this picture and say I don't even have to date because he found my wife for me. My mother would tell him to stop and make him put the picture away. Her father trained my father. I looked it up when I…left last night. Her father was killed in the line of duty. They think it was one of the _Newborns_ in Seattle. But, no one has ever solved the case. She has become very important to me."

Jasper put down the picture gingerly and carefully slid it back to Edward.

"Edward, that is absolutely amazing that after all of these years you two end up together here. I know she's important to you, but that should make it all the more urgent for you to catch this guy. Unfortunately, she is the best thing that could've happened to us in regards to stopping this killing."

"Jasper, I love her."

Jasper was stunned momentarily.

"It's only been…how do you know?"

"Before the beginning of this week, I would wake up and my first thoughts would be about my day at work, or working out, or some other mundane thing. Now, all of my thoughts plans and actions are consumed by what's best for Isabella. When I think of my future all I see is her and Amanda. I see us watching her graduate from elementary, high school, and college. I see us dancing at her wedding. Everything has changed. I can't lose her now that I've finally found her."

"Wow." Jasper's face had kind of a dazed look. "I think I can relate to that." He went around the desk and patted him on the shoulder and leaned against it facing him. "Listen, you have to listen to your own advice, Cullen. This is what we do. We are not going to let Isabella slip through our fingers. Lisa even wants to help.

"What do you mean?"

"Detective McNichols noticed how similar they are in coloring and height and suggested herself as a decoy, if need be. See, we're all looking out for Bella. You don't have to do this all by yourself. Nobody wants to see her get hurt; especially now that they know she's Charles Swan's daughter."

"That's a good idea, Whitlock. Maybe we can find a way for her to see Angela with Lisa's help." He thought about what Jasper was telling him and had to admit he was right about not hiding her.

"Whitlock, you said the Captain agrees with you up to a point."

"Yeah, he thinks Amanda should be home-schooled, but I explained to him that adding another unknown element, a teacher, to the mix was not a good move. He still doesn't agree, but I know you have files and confidential things at your place. He's allowing us to have final say and trusting that we know what we're doing."

"Jasper, I can't have her walking to work alone or doing anything alone. I would be a basket case. It's too dangerous for her. Let's compromise. Let me find a home-school teacher I trust with my life and hers. I'll drive Bella to and from the diner. That way we can pull the three agents away from Naperville and focus more attention on Isabella. I have to run it by her first, but I think she'll like it."

They sat in silence for a while until Jasper objected.

"Edward, he expects that wherever Bella is you'll be. Let's give him something he doesn't expect. Let her walk alone. We'll follow her very closely."

They argued back and forth until Edward came to this compromise,

"Okay, Whitlock. When Isabella works I'll already be in the diner before her shift starts. He won't be expecting that, right? You will _have_ to make sure she gets there safely. Make sure at least two plain clothes officers are walking close behind her. She is my world."

Jasper agreed to give his plan a try once Bella gave her approval.

"Whitlock, please don't tell Alice what I told you. She'll become even more annoying than she already can be. She'll get all excited and want to start planning a wedding before I even get to tell Isabella how I feel."

Jasper laughed and patted him on the shoulder, "Well, bad news buddy, I think she already knows. But, she won't hear it from me."

"What do you mean she knows? This is the first time I've been able to say this out loud to anyone but my grandmother and she told me."

"She knows you, Edward. It's like she knows what you're going to do before you do it. It's really a little freaky, if you ask me." He chuckled and stood up.

"By the way, I noticed you sleeping with my sister last night. Do you have a death wish or something?" Edward tried to seem angry, but he was really happy Jasper was protecting his sister.

Jasper rolled his eyes, "I was sleeping in the chair, Cullen. Your father didn't object, so I'm not worried about you. You can just nix all of those big brother scare tactics. I've got dirt on you kid."

"I'll deny it."

Jasper gave him a big smile before he walked out of the office, "No you won't." He didn't even have a retort because he knew Jasper was right.

A few seconds later Alice burst into the office and said frantically,

"You have to do something. Bella's leaving."

****DBW****

"What?" Edward jumped up and started moving towards the door.

"She was really upset by what Rose said and she's decided to leave. She asked for us to bring her Amanda. She said she was making some calls. Edward she can't leave. She'll be defenseless on her own and I love her, too. We're going to be friends for life." Alice was breathing hard and looking at Edward with a look of panic on her face.

"You love her…too?" He looked at his sister wondering if she overheard his conversation with Jasper.

"Oh, get over yourself, Edward. It's written all over your face and you light up like a kid at Christmas when she's around. I know you love her and I do, too. Go make her stay!"

He thanked her and promised her he would do the best he could. When he went out into the great room, Esme was sitting with Amanda on her lap looking worried. Rosalie and Alistair were gone and Emmett was staring daggers at Edward. Carlisle had his head down talking to Jasper and Alice was standing in place wringing her hands. He couldn't be bothered with that right now. His only focus was Isabella.

He ran up the stairs two at a time until he reached Emmett's room. She wasn't there. He went up to his floor and knocked on his bedroom door. She was there holding her cell phone sitting on the side of his bed crying. He walked over to her cautiously and sat on the floor in front of her. She looked up and her eyes widened slightly. She wiped her eyes quickly and said,

"I won't be long. I'm trying to decide if I should call Jacob or Iris. I'll take a cab and go pick up my car. I have a car." She nodded and mumbled the last part almost as if she was talking to herself.

Edward said quietly, "So, we're either going to the Gold Coast or Bolingbrook?"

Bella looked up at him quickly, "I…I was making arrangements for Amanda and me. I was going to tell you where we were going."

He said just as quietly as before, "You're not going anywhere without me."

Fierceness passed over her eyes, she stood up and started to speak boldly, but her trembling voice betrayed her,

"You all can have doubts about me all you want. I can't control that. But, you can't control me. If it's my time to leave this earth, it's my time to go. I've been protecting and taking care of my sister all of her life and I'll keep making sure she's safe on my own. I won't be berated by your…"

Edward stood on his knees and grabbed her hands that were waving in the air emphatically to make her points. He pulled her close to him and interrupted her with his lips.

He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, closed his eyes and moaned. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. Her lips were so soft and full.

"So fucking sweet." He mumbled to himself. The electricity that flowed between them and calmed him before was exciting him now and causing every part of his body to tingle.

She put her hands on his shoulders and he thought she was going to push him away, but her hands slid up his neck and buried themselves in his hair where she pulled him closer with one hand and scratched his scalp with the other. Her little hands in his hair were his idea of heaven. After he finished nibbling and sucking on her bottom lip he moved slowly and sensually up to the top one. They were inhaling each others' breaths and he pulled her even closer so that she was on his lap as he managed to sit down fully and move his legs from underneath himself.

He slid his hand behind her neck pulling her closer and licked her bottom lip asking for permission to enter her sweet mouth. She opened her mouth and their tongues danced over each others. He tilted his head and explored even deeper. He could taste the coffee she had that morning and the peppermint she was sucking on after breakfast. But, she had her own taste that was just Isabella and that was his new favorite flavor. He sucked her tongue into his mouth and she moaned. The room was reverberant with their pants moans. His hands moved down to her hips and squeezed, as his lips moved down to suck on the hollow spot right above her collar bone. He loved that there was meat on her body. She was all woman and he grinded her center into his hardness. He could feel her heat through his pants and she let out a gasp as he moaned and he began to thrust against her without even being fully aware of what he was doing. He finally regained his sanity and broke away because it was too much too fast. He bent his knees to let her lean against them so her back wouldn't hurt and he leaned forward and put his forehead against hers.

"Damn! That was…" He slid her further down his lap so he could calm his body down.

He took in a few deep breaths, licked his lips that still tasted of her and closed his eyes. It took him a few minutes to be able to speak a coherent sentence. The blood was finally flowing back to his brain and he was able to speak to her.

"Isabella, it is not your time to leave this earth. You are not alone and you will never be again, if I can help it. From here on out wherever you and Amanda go, I go. I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I'm going to do." He squeezed her hips again.

"As far as Rose goes, she's not all of us and she's definitely not me. You were invited here by me and welcomed by our parents. They want you here as long as you want to be. I want you here, too."

He opened his eyes and looked into the depth of her chocolate pools. She still had tears in her eyes. He reached up and wiped them away with his thumbs. He felt ashamed of his loss of self-control.

"Isabella…I'm sorry for…attacking you. I-I don't know what to…"

She interrupted him by kissing him forcefully on his lips and he relaxed into it and let her take control. When she was done she leaned back and framed his face with her hands,

"Don't you _dare_ apologize to me. That was the best kiss of my life." She looked down with rosy cheeks and sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. He reached up and gently worked her lip out of her mouth with his thumb and kissed her bottom lip tenderly.

"Don't bite your lip. That's my job now." She laughed at him and he wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezed her to his chest and mumbled into her vanilla scented hair.

"I love you, Isabella Marie Swan." She leaned back with wide eyes and looked at him.

"What?"

He looked down because he knew this was reckless, but he had to say it.

"I love you and I know it's crazy and too soon, but that's how I feel." He waited for her to run out of the room and continue with her escape plans.

But, she didn't run. She just started trembling and he felt drops of water on his hands that were holding hers. She was crying again.

"I love you too, Edward Anthony Cullen, with all my heart; even though it's crazy and too soon."

They wiped each others tears and sat there holding each other for what felt like hours. Their heartbeats felt like they were in sync and he began to hum a song into her ear that he heard a long time ago. They were in their own little bubble until they heard a knock on the door. Bella scrambled off of Edward's lap and he pouted. She couldn't help but laugh and kiss his pout away. He smiled at her adoringly as he finally answered the knock.

"Who is it?"

Emmett's voice bellowed through the door.

"Edward, we need to talk. Can you meet me in my room?"

"Yeah man. I'll be there in five minutes." He heard Emmett move away from the door and he shook his head about the drama that was about to occur.

"Isabella, my brother's probably going to try to bash my skull in because I snapped at Rose. So, just remember I love you and hang close to Jasper if I don't make it."

"Edward, I swear you better be joking because I can't take any more excitement today…period. I'm going with you."

He laughed to himself thinking about his little Isabella getting in between himself and his brother. It would be the equivalent of throwing a blade of grass in the wind.

"That's not a good idea, sweetheart. These things can get messy. Please go downstairs and talk Alice off the ledge." He squeezed her hand. "She didn't want you and Amanda to go anywhere by yourselves. She loves you, too." He stroked her cheek lovingly and she leaned into his touch. "By the way, are we staying here, baby doll, or are we leaving tonight?"

She melted inside from his terms of endearment. "I thought we could maybe leave and go to your place, like Jasper suggested." She looked down at her feet like she was afraid of his response.

He picked up her hands and kissed both of them, "Your wish is my command. Now, pray for me." She laughed and shook her head hoping with everything inside of her that he was joking about how bad it can get between him and his brother.

"Isabella."

"Yeah?"

"That was the best kiss of my life, too." He bent down and kissed her gently on her forehead and hugged her to him before they walked down to Emmett's floor hand in hand. His Isabella was smiling from ear to ear when he left her and walked into Emmett's room.

****DBW***

He knocked and entered Emmett's room decorated to fit his bright personality. The walls were a bright cream. His furniture was all light woods and his comforter, sheets and pillow casings were all various shades of berry colors, blues, and browns. The shelving in his room was devoted to trophies and movies when he lived there. Now they were vacant, as well, and his trophies were in his trophy room. He had always fit in this room.

But, his room's brightness and the sadness on his face were in stark contrast at the moment. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked up when Edward walked in. Edward started to speak, but he held up his hand to stop him.

"I'm going to say what I need to say and you're not going to interrupt me." Edward nodded and leaned against the closed door.

"Edward, Rosie can be a massive bitch at times. I know this better than anybody. But, you know just as well as I do that she needs to be sometimes and I don't allow anybody else to call her that. You told my wife of ten years to go home if she doesn't like things around here. Edward, this is Rosie's home. If you recall, she lived here for most of high school and Carlisle was her legal guardian because of all the fucked up shit her family put her through. I know you're Esme's blood and I'm just an adopted kid. But, if Rosie's not welcome here and if she can't speak her mind about something that worries her…if this is not her home, then it's not my home either. You are my brother Edward, but she is my life. Don't make me pick and choose because I choose her. She is the mother of my child. She is everything to me." Emmett breathed out deeply like he had been holding his breath for ages.

Edward felt like a piece of shit. He would've rather gotten into a wrestling match or been punched in the jaw than hear how he had hurt people he loves. He went off on a rampage and didn't think about how he had hurt Rose's feelings. She walked around with such a tough exterior he thought she could take anything he dished out. All he could think about at the time was Isabella. He understood perfectly now what his brother was saying about Rose being his life.

"Shit, Em. I am so sorry." He sat down on the bed next to his brother. He looked at this large man that was so in command on the football field, but seemed so lost and little right now. He put his arm around his shoulders.

"You are not 'just an adopted kid.' You are my family. Esme and Carlisle love all of us equally, including Rosalie, and don't ever let any of the stupidity that flies out of my mouth let you think any differently. You know I'm an asshole, Animal."

"Yes you are, Monster. Yes you are." He laughed and looked at him imploringly. "You'll apologize to Rosie?"

"Give me your phone." He dialed Rosalie's cell and she answered right away.

"_Em, are you coming to meet me soon?" _He could hear she had been crying and it made him feel even worse.

"Rose, it's me, Edward. Don't hang up." There was silence on the other end and a little sniffling.

"_What do you want? I left your house like you wanted me to."_

"Rose…you know I'm an asshole. I was just angry and scared for Isabella. I didn't think you would take it so hard. I'm so sorry. You know this is just as much your home as it is mine. You normally fight me when I'm a jerk. What happened? Are you losing your mojo?"

She laughed, _"Well, you're right. You are an asshole. But, just tell me why. Why should I trust this girl? You get hurt all of the time Edward. I was just concerned about you, you jackass."_

"Well, it's a long story, Rose, but the bottom line is… I love her and you don't have to trust her…just trust me. Don't tell me how crazy it is and what a moron I am. I already know." Emmett's head snapped up at him and then his face spread into his boyish dimpled smile.

Rose was quiet and Edward was waiting for the verbal berating he was sure to get, but then she spoke,

"_Well, that explains a lot. Why didn't you say anything, you jerk? You love her, huh? Well, she is pretty and she seems very nice outside of the thinking she might be aiding a serial killer psycho stalker thing I was nervous about."_

Emmett slapped him on his back. "I thought so."

Edward sighed in relief surprised that he seemed to be the only one thinking he was crazy.

"Rose, come back home. We're all here. That's where you should be."

"_Say please." _He could hear the smile in her voice.

"Damn! Please, Rose, come back here and be with your family. I promise to try to nip my assholery in the bud before it explodes again…since you're so sensitive lately."

"_Well, even though the please was surrounded by your usual snarky comments, I will come back…home."_

"Okay, hurry up…and bring Emily. I want her to meet Amanda before we leave."

"_She's in school, genius. You'll get to see her on the weekend. I'll be there in a few."_

"Bye Rose. I love you, nag."

"_Yeah, yeah. I'll see you in a few. Do you think Isabella will forgive me?"_

"I don't know. You might have to grovel." He chuckled to himself and Emmett laughed, too.

"_Shit! Does she like this mocha crappa chino shit at Starbucks?"_

He laughed outright, "Surprise her." She ended the call.

"Emmett, your wife is a piece of work."

"Yeah, yeah. Soooo, you love Bellie Mae, huh? So, I'll have another little sister to harass soon."

"Whoa, let's just get through this and see if she can tolerate me for more than a few hours at a time."

Emmett gave Edward a noogie and said, "You grow on people…like a fungus. Does she like mushrooms?"

"Get off of me, giant! Come downstairs and stop brooding up here. You're starting to act like me."

Emmett jumped up, "Nobody wants that shit."

****DBW****

When they walked back into the great room area, Bella was in a deep conversation with Jasper with Amanda on her lap. Alice was sitting on the couch watching TV yogi style. When she saw Edward and Emmett enter the room she beamed up at them. Edward leaned over her and kissed her on the forehead and she mouthed a thank you to him.

Amanda jumped off of Bella's lap and took a running leap at him. Thankfully, he caught her. He laughed and shook his head at her.

"What has you so excited, Amanda?"

She said bashfully, "We're staying with you?"

"Yep. As long as you want to."

"So, we can stay forever?" Her eyes grew wide and she smiled big.

He smiled, "As far as I'm concerned, but I don't know what Isabella thinks of that."

She whispered conspiratorially to him, "We have to work together to get her to see things our way."

He laughed loudly because he didn't know where this little girl came from. She was like a thirty-five year old stuck in a five-year old façade. He lifted her high in the air and spun her around like an airplane…noises and all.

She giggled like the little girl she actually was and he sat her securely on his hip and said,

"All right, Captain. You tell me what to do and I'll do it." He saluted her with his free hand and she laid her head on his shoulder smiling.

"You're so silly. Guess what?"

"What?"

"I introduced Bella Boo to Bobo. Your bear was really happy to meet her. Davie wasn't jealous at all."

He gently pinched her cheek, "Bobo is your bear now. Take good care of him. I'm glad Davie's not jealous. Remember you have to love them both the same, okay?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Duh. You don't have to tell me that."

He snickered, "I do apologize. Where was my head?"

She looked at him very oddly and said, "Okay. You can put me down now, Edward. If you don't know where your head is, we are both in big trouble."

He set her down and hugged her to his knees laughing the whole time. He reached for her hand and they walked over to Isabella.

"Isabella, I believe this little person belongs to you." He set her back on Bella's lap and bent to kiss both of their cheeks softly. When he looked up, he caught Carlisle's eyes and he was smiling warmly at him. Edward smiled back at him and nodded. He needed to talk to his pop in private, but now wasn't the time because he needed to find his mother.

****DBW****

He walked out the back door past the deck down a stone path towards a one floor 'mini-me' version of the main house. This is where Esme came up with her interior design ideas and where she sometimes collaborated on home renovations with various contractors and architects. It was very important to some people to maintain the Chicago-style architecture of some of the older buildings in historic neighborhoods. She agreed whole-heartedly that tearing down the old to build something new is not the best idea as far as keeping a city's historical context intact.

When he walked in she was standing at a window looking at her beloved rose garden. She didn't turn and acknowledge him when he came in. He just came and stood behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

She reached up and placed her hand over his. They stood like that for a few minutes. He knew when she was pensive like this it was best to let her speak first.

She finally broke the calm,

"Are you okay now?" She turned her head and looked into his eyes.

He nodded and bent his head to place his chin on her shoulder so they could be cheek to cheek. She gave him a quick peck and told him he needed to shave. He just smiled, gave her a gentle squeeze of a hug and went and sat down at her small kitchenette table.

"I'm sorry about my outburst, ma. Did I break anything?"

She smiled, "Nope. Your tab is clear."

"Are you sure? I think I still owe you for the vase from when I was ten."

"Oh! All that debt was erased when you turned eighteen. Your record was expunged. Did I get that legalese right?" She winked at him. But he knew she wasn't finished.

"I think you may have been kind of hard on Rosie, though. She was pretty upset when she came back in the room. You know she puts up a façade like she can care less what people think, but your opinion is really important to her. You and Emmett are like her own personal heroes. You know that right?"

He nodded ashamed of himself.

"I apologized. Emmett gave me a good talking to. She's coming home with treats to suck up to Isabella." He smiled at her and she leaned her chin on her hand and really looked at him. He squirmed a little under her scrutiny.

"Bella looked different when she came downstairs. How did you get her to change her mind?" She was wearing a knowing smile.

"Ma, don't act like Alice didn't tell you everything already." She laughed languidly.

"Love is a strange thing isn't it?"

He still couldn't help but gasp a little when other people spoke of this so easily and he was still wrapping his brain around it.

"When I met Carlisle I was in my senior year of high school and he was in his second year at Northwestern, pre-med. I was waitressing in a diner downtown to have some extra cash before I went to college. My parents had money, but I wanted my own walking around money." He sat back and relaxed in his chair because he loved the way Esme told stories. She would get this dreamy faraway look like she was reliving the moments and forgot you were there. But, he didn't mind at all.

"He walked in with this air of importance and he was so serious. He came in often, but he never sat at my station. I would watch him from the counter and hope he would give me the time of day. His clothes weren't stylish, but they were neat and clean. He sat apart from some of the other college kids that were regulars there. It was like he didn't have time for nonsense. The woman who usually waited on him was out that day and I was covering her station. I forgot her name. How could I forget? She was an older lady…so sweet. She knew I had a crush on him. Anyway, I walked over to him and he looked up at me with those kind baby blues and he smiled for the first time since I had noticed him and my heart literally stopped beating. We looked at each other for a minute and he reached out his hand and said,

"_Hi, I'm Carlisle Cullen."_

"It was that simple. I shook his hand and the whole world stopped. Then I said the most embarrassing thing I could have possibly said,

"_Hi, I'm Esme Cullen." _

Edward laughed. He had been told this story many times before, but he loved hearing it again.

"I was humiliated. If I could've disappeared into the floor, I would have. But, he held on to my hand and said,

"_Well, Esme Cullen, I think I'm going to have to buy you a ring then. Are you sure you don't want to hyphenate?"_

"We were inseparable after that. When my parents found out he was pre-med, Irish and Catholic they practically packed my bags and married me off that summer. We married after my first year at Northwestern." They both chuckled at her parents' immediate acceptance of a college man's attention towards their high-school age daughter. She suddenly realized what she said and turned sad eyes to Edward.

"I didn't mean to bring them up, sweetheart. I get carried away you know." He just shook his head dismissively and asked like he used to when he was a kid,

"Tell me again how my parents met." He waited in rapt attention. He had heard this story many times, too. But, right now he wanted to be reminded that he wasn't crazy.

She smiled and stroked his cheek, "Well, you know Lizzie was a rebel. I loved her to death. She did things I only dreamed of. She would sneak out the window at night and run off with her friends that our parents thought was a 'bad crowd.' She didn't want what she called 'a snobbish elitist existence.' So, as soon as she turned eighteen she split." She laughed, but it was tinged with sadness, "She left me alone with our parents and I was left to make up for her rebellion." She smiled at Edward, "But, I didn't mind. I liked seeing her free and flying. She wanted to dance. She was very good. Our mother made us both take dance and piano so we could be 'cultured ladies with good postures.'" Esme chuckled thinking about the ridiculousness of the ideas her mother grew up with.

"I did it because I had to, but Lizzie loved it. She was so passionate about music and dance. My mother thought she should go to college and become a teacher or a librarian…something stable and sure. Lizzie flat out refused to even consider it. Dad had already decided since he didn't have sons that Platt Plastics would die with him. I resented that so much, but I never said anything. Lizzie would have if she wanted to go into the business. She was so brave and passionate about life. You're like her in that way." Edward's chest warmed to the compliment.

"Lizzie was a bohemian. She didn't want anything stable. She liked the excitement of uncertainty…until she met your father." Edward smiled and Esme continued,

"She was living in D.C. near Howard University. She _loved _African dance and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. She thought they were doing the most innovative things with choreography and she heard that some of their dancers ended up being company choreographers. Lizzie wanted to combine some Irish dance with African dance to show how they both came from the same passion, although one was more reserved than the other. She heard that the company came to Howard to host their auditions for the D.C. area, so she made it her business to be there. Meanwhile, she was teaching ballroom and ballet at a little studio right down the street from the White House. I visited often my first year way. My parents didn't know. She was so alive." Her eyes turned sad. Edward patted her hand and said,

"You don't have to finish, ma." He thought about how much it would hurt him to talk about Alice in the past tense. He didn't want her to hurt just so he could hear a story that he had heard before.

"Don't be silly." She slapped his hand lightly. "Where was I? Oh, I was there that day. She was tending the front desk between her classes and he walked in." She laughed loudly. "We were both gawking at him. He had on a suit and tie. He was wearing his badge and gun. He was a gorgeous man, Edward. He looked so…important when he was in his work clothes. You know how the ladies gawk at you?" He blushed and shook his head. She laughed. "Oh, stop it! You know they do. He got the same reaction."

"He walked up to the desk and he was so disarmingly charming and easy-going. You would expect a guy in a suit with a gun to be kind of serious. But, he was the exact opposite of what you would expect. He smiled the brightest smile at us. My sister, who was never speechless, went into a little bit of a dream state." She giggled.

"I had to answer his questions for her. He wanted to waltz with your Aunt Carmen at her wedding. He was giving his sister away since your grandfather had passed. He really liked Richard. He told me that he knew how to do the Electric Slide and how to…what was that called…Cabbage Patch, I think." Edward laughed loudly. He suddenly remembered his father doing the old dance around the house when he was happy.

"Lizzie couldn't say a word. He looked at her intently and asked,

"_Hello there, pretty lady. Are you going to be my teacher?"_

"She just nodded, but she stayed mute. He laughed and said to me that he was glad she could read lips because he didn't know any sign language. He thought she was deaf. Then, guess what he said?" Edward smiled,

"What?" He knew, but he wanted to hear it again.

"_I think I may have to take a sign language class or two so I can keep this beautiful woman in my life."_

"Then, he pinched my cheek like the big ole pest he was and he lifted Lizzie's left hand and kissed her ring finger good-bye. He walked out the door backwards still smiling at her and your mother ran to the window to watch him walk away until she couldn't see him anymore. She walked back to the desk, looked me in the eyes, smiled like a Cheshire cat and said,

"_I'm going to marry him."_

"She didn't even know his name until she looked at the sign-in sheet. He came in faithfully to take his ballroom classes three nights a week for three months. He invited her to the wedding in Chicago, she accepted and they went back to D.C. and moved in together. They were married two months later and then came you." She smiled widely at Edward and continued,

"I am personally of the opinion that love that takes years and years to figure out isn't the kind of love that holds marriages together. There has to be chemistry and fire. But, there also has to be trust and honesty. It's a day to day effort. I'm still learning new things about Carlisle every day. I loved him when I met him, but I also loved the man he became. On the other hand, the man he is now is so exciting and sexy. It's like we're starting over."

Edward shook his head,

"How many times do I have to remind you and pop that I have to bleach my brain when you talk about 'sexy' things?'" He shuddered.

She blinked at him and laughed so loudly and long that Edward was a little worried, "You are sooo much like your father. Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to him again when I talk to you." He beamed inside at the compliment.

They sat in a peaceful quiet for a few minutes.

"So, it's not so odd that you love Bella so quickly. That phenomenon runs in your family. Don't over think it. You're like your father in that way. Just go with it, EJ. It's a good thing."

He got up and hugged his mother so tightly that he picked her up out of the chair.

"I love you so much, Esme Cullen." She smiled at him and said,

"More than chocolate?"

He nodded enthusiastically, "Much more."

"Well, I guess that's real love. Let's go back into the house before your brother eats everything in sight."

****DBW****

When they walked back into the main house, Rosalie had bought coffees for everyone and hot cocoa for Amanda who was taking a nap on Bella's lap. They were sitting on the couch talking like they were old friends. Bella was slurping on a caramel macchiato coffee and Alice was drinking a black coffee.

Rosalie looked at him and nodded and he walked behind her and set his chin on top of her head. She began slapping him lightly on both cheeks,

"Get away from me, angry man! Your pointy chin hurts."

He laughed and said, "No. I'm trying to allow your brain to soak up how sorry I am through osmosis."

"You are such a pain in the ass! Emmett, come get your silly brother."

"Ssshhhhh. Ix-nay the ussing-cay around the aby-bay." She rolled her eyes at Edward's rusty pig Latin and said,

"Iss-kay my utt-bay!" Everybody busted out laughing and Alice grabbed Amanda to put her to bed in her room.

It looked like Isabella had forgiven Rosalie right away, which he was really happy about. He wanted them to get along. The way he and Rose sniped at each other was an adjustment for most people, but everyone became used to it soon enough.

Emmett came out of the kitchen with two sandwiches; one in each hand. He looked at his wife and brother, shrugged his shoulders and sat down.

"As long as there's no blood, I'm staying out of it."

He was hugging her around the neck, holding her hands down and giving her smooches on her cheeks.

"Uuuggghhh. Stop it, trouble-maker."

"Say uncle!" He was holding her down on the couch while she squirmed.

"Edward, as soon as you let me go, you will pay."

"Awwww, what's wong Wosie. You don't wike it when I wive you smooches?"

Everybody was laughing and waiting for her to hit him…hard.

"I'm gonna let go now. But, you have to promise not to punch me in my eye because I have to look over documents tonight."

"I promise not to punch you in the eye."

He hesitantly let her go and she quickly put him in a choke hold.

He rasped out while he was laughing,

"I give. I give. I won't give you any more sorry smooches."

She let him go and pushed his head away.

"That's what I thought. Now go get one of those coffees before they get cold. See Bella, that's how you handle Edward. I'll give you a couple more lessons later."

Bella nodded and winked at Rose. Edward stopped and looked between the two of them. Then he thought to himself,

_Oh shit. This can't be good._

He leaned in and whispered in his Isabella's ear,

"Et tu, Brute?"

She smiled at him behind her coffee cup, "It's like the _Ides of March_ around here, buddy. The women outnumber the men. We rule." She wiggled her eyebrows at him and kissed his nose. Then her cheeks turned a rosy pink.

Damn! He loved this girl. She was going to fit into his family perfectly.

****DBW****

After Edward escaped unscathed from Rosalie's choke hold, he went to find his father in his office.

"Hey pop. Can I bother you for a minute?"

He leaned back in his chair and smiled. He looked at his watch, waited a few seconds and finally said,

"Go!"

Edward laughed at his father. "What is going on with this family today? Did mom put something in the pancakes?"

"Of course she did. She's been doing that for years. How do you think I made it through med school?"

He smiled. "I knew we were different for some reason."

"I need to talk to you about Isabella."

Carlisle turned off his computer and turned his complete attention to his son.

"Okay. I'm listening."

"If you weren't pre-med when you met mom, and in the military, for example, and there was a chance you would have to leave her for long periods of time, or that you might not come home at all because of your job. Would you have kept that career? Or would you have tried to find something…safer?"

Carlisle thought about it for a few minutes. Edward thought he might have to rephrase his question or get more specific. However, Carlisle finally began to speak.

"That's an interesting question and I think I know why you asked it on several different levels."

Edward straightened up and waited patiently.

"EJ, I grew up in South Bend, Indiana. My father worked as a sales manager for a steel company there. His father worked on the railroad until he died of a heart attack on the job at fifty-two. He was a week away from retiring. My mother was a homemaker and my grandmother was a homemaker. My dad's motto was: 'Go to church. Pray hard. Work hard. Live slow and love steady.' My parents were simple people and they seemed like they were relatively happy and so was I growing up. However, I loved science. Anything to do with chemistry, biology, anatomy…I would devour medical books when I was nine. Of course, I didn't fully understand what I was reading, but I would read them like other kids read _Treasure Island. _

"At my grandfather's funeral everybody said what a hard worker he was and how he kept his yard so nice and his family fed. He was truly loved by his family. I missed him a lot. I remember thinking; if I were big I could've saved him."

Carlisle looked at his son to see if he was following him and he had Edward's attention.

"I went to my uncle's funeral in my last year of high school when he was fifty and they said the same sort of things about him at his funeral. When I finally went to my father's funeral, I was in my first year of college at Illinois State. His obituary was almost a duplicate of his father's. I can show you. I have them in a box in my closet."

"I was dating a woman…ha…I actually forgot her name. Esme would be so pleased. Anyway, I had known her since I was twelve. We were going to the same college and I really liked her. It just made sense, I guess. I was an Education major. My parents had advised me to be practical. No Cullen had ever been a doctor. My father warned I was setting myself up for disappointment, failure and discontent. They wanted me to go into business or something 'realistic.'

The only reason why I chose education as a major was because I knew with all my heart that I didn't want to be in sales like my father. I figured if I could teach science maybe somebody else could become a doctor. I respected my dad very much. I thought he would be looking down on me proudly for being practical."

Edward didn't know this about Carlisle. He thought he had gone straight to Northwestern from high school.

"Then, one day, my chest started hurting. I knew I couldn't be having a heart attack at nineteen. I was frantic. I pulled all the medical books I had studied since I was eleven off my shelves and started thumbing through them. I ended up going to the emergency room. They hooked me up to an ECG machine and a heart monitor just to tell me I was having a panic attack."

Edward's eyes widened thinking about his episodes that sent him to Jacob.

"I walked out relieved, but I was agitated. I was restless and snippy with my girlfriend. This went on for weeks. She finally broke up with me and I was royally pissed about everything in general and nothing in particular. I had no clue why. I dropped out. I moved up to Chicago and got a job as a dishwasher because I couldn't go home. My mother would've hovered over me until I snapped and that was the last thing I wanted. So, I would go to work with a scowl on my face and do my job. I didn't talk to anybody. I just did my job and went home. One of the managers pulled me to the side one day and asked me point blank,

"_What in the hell is wrong with you? Why are you so angry all of the time?"_

"That made me even angrier because I didn't know why."

Edward was on the edge of his seat listening to his father.

"I had read about Northwestern's med school program all of my conscious life. I literally dreamed of going there. I went to Illinois State because it's a great school to get an education degree from, the tuition was low and I couldn't step foot on Northwestern's campus if I wasn't pre-med. It would've broken my heart."

"One day I decided to take the bus to their campus in Evanston and just walk around. I fell in love with the campus. Seeing it in brochures was one thing. Being there was a dream come true."

"I took a trip there every day I got a chance. I finally worked up the nerve to go into one of the science buildings and sit in one of the biology classes. I figured I could lie if I was caught and say I was auditing the class. It was like my senses were on fire, EJ. My whole body woke up. I started going to that class three days a week. I was even going to labs, answering questions and participating. I didn't even care if I got in trouble. I bought a used textbook and stole a copy of the syllabus and assignment list. I had even rearranged my work schedule around the class schedule. At the end of one of the lectures, the Professor's TA came up and asked me to stick around."

"I wanted to run, but I couldn't move. He walked up the stairs at the end of his lecture with a big smile on his face…I'll never forget him…Dr. Stills. I thought I was going to jail or was going to be banned from their campus for being crazy. He sat next to me and asked me if I wanted to be a doctor. I nodded. I couldn't verbalize it because I thought I was betraying my father. He told me he knew I wasn't a student there and I told him I was an Education major at Illinois State and had dropped out. He laughed, patted me on the shoulder and said,

"_Good for you. That would have been a waste of a fine doctor."_

"I stopped by and talked to him all of the time just to pick his brain. I finally went to my father's grave site, sat flowers there, kissed the gravestone and told him I have to follow my own path. I applied for the summer session and got in with a recommendation from one of the top retired cardiologists in the country, Dr. Xavier Stills." Edward was floored.

He looked pointedly at his son, "I felt truly alive Edward for the first time in my young life. I was focused and energetic. I had passion."

"EJ, there are only two other things in life that overshadow that passion…Esme Cullen and this family."

Edward was speechless.

"So, I guess the answer is no. I wouldn't have chosen a safer career because I would be home more often. Hell, I could've been an eighth grade biology teacher and stepped out the door to go to work and been hit by a car, or a stray bullet. Who knows? There were times I was at the hospital for 48 hours straight because it just didn't make sense to go home. I could have fallen asleep at the wheel and never made it home." He looked at Edward sternly and he ducked his head.

"Nothing is truly one hundred percent safe, son. There are no guarantees. I know career military people that have never been in the field or been in any danger of being hurt. I know police officers who didn't fire their gun their entire career."

Edward finally found his voice and asked, "What if Esme had wanted you to quit?"

Carlisle shook his head, "Esme loves me, Edward. She would _never_ have asked me to quit doing something I loved so much. The only person that could have ever decided for me to give up medicine was me."

"The only question you should ask yourself right now, Edward is if I could do a job or _anything_ for the rest of my life, even for free…even if I had to pay somebody to be able to do it, what is it that I would do and _never_ give it up?"

Edward felt so confused. Carlisle interrupted his musings,

"When you hear the word 'passion' what's the first thing that comes into your mind…quick."

His head snapped up, "Isabella."

Carlisle raised his eyebrow and smiled,

"This family….my music." Edward lifted his head and widened his eyes at his father. He started shaking his head incredulously.

Carlisle said quietly, "Not tracking serial killers, or working robberies and homicides?" Edward shook his head slowly no.

"When you hear the word 'duty' what is the first thing that comes into your mind…quickly?"

"Being a police officer…my parents…Uncle Richard."

"You do your duty every day, son, and I am _so_ proud of you. But, seeing you with Isabella and Amanda reminds me of why I dropped out of Illinois State and the fact that I would never have met Esme if I hadn't followed my passions. I would have never had such a good friend and brother in your father. I would never have a son like you and my Emmett or little Alice. Rosalie couldn't have come to me for help when she needed it. My life is full, Edward. I'm writing my own obituary, son. I'm not having my father's copied."

"My mother died the week after I brought you home to live with us. I don't know if you remember her."

Edward shook his head no apologetically.

"She had visited us the day before we started setting up for your birthday party, but she couldn't stay. She walked up to me before she left with Esme to go to the airport, touched my cheek, and said my father would be so proud of me. She said they were both wrong to discourage me from following my dreams." He smiled at Edward.

"Your father _loved _being a police officer. He was one of the happiest people I have ever known. He lived for it just as much as he lived for you and Lizzie. The only time when I've ever seen you beam like your father was when you were playing your music and when you hold Isabella's hand. When you leave for work, I see resignation."

Edward's eyes shot up to him.

"It's not your destiny to die as a police officer like your father and your grandfather, or even Richard, EJ. I refuse to believe it. You don't have to be them to grieve them." Carlisle sat and watched the emotions play over Edward's face.

"Did I answer your questions?"

Edward smiled and quickly wiped away a tear. "Yeah. You were a little long-winded, but you answered them."

Carlisle laughed and hit the top of Edward's head with a medical journal that was sitting on his desk.

"Get out of here, smart-ass, before I get Rosalie to put you in another choke hold. I heard you guys out there."

Edward scoffed, "As if. I was just feeding her ego."

Carlisle chuckled. Edward stopped before he walked out and said,

"Thank you, pop."

"Anytime, kid."

"Oh! Remember what you told me my father said about haunting you when you were trying to recapture your youth?"

Carlisle laughed and nodded.

Edward gave the Polaroid of his father and Isabella to Carlisle and walked out smiling.

Carlisle looked at the picture a little confused, flipped it over, smiled and started laughing to himself. He looked skyward and said to the atmosphere,

"Edward, you are still a pain in my ass."

****DBW****

_**A/N: I'm stopping here because I can't take anymore…lol…But, this is going to be a two-parter. It'll be Chapter 10, but consider it 9b. I want to sincerely thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I was so floored by it. I love that you guys are so passionate about this story. I know some of you don't like Rosalie very much….lol. But, she's just like that cousin you don't like, but tolerate because you love. I think she'll grow on you as things move on, though.**_

_**I happen to love Illinois State and did not mean to speak of it in a disparaging light. I also loooove Starbucks. **_

_**If you like it, tell a friend and please tell me. **__** If you don't, tell me that, too. It helps me to grow. **_

_**Oh, I don't have a beta or a pre-reader, so please forgive my grammatical errors, verb confusion and general goofiness. **_

_**Just in case you're not familiar with pig Latin it's just taking a word like spot, dropping the first consonant, and adding an "ay" to it. So, spot becomes pot-kay. It's supposed to be a secret language. So, basically Edward said, "Nix the cussing in front of the baby."**_

_**Rose said, "Kiss my butt!"**_

_******DBW*****_

_**I'm breaking a promise. **__** I said I wouldn't have long author's notes, but I couldn't help it this time. I want to rec some other fics that I devour as soon as they come into my inbox:**_

_**Last Tango in Forks, by AwesomeSauce76 – She had me from the title. This is a very steamy fic with a great deal of heart. I'm not good at summarizing other people's work. Let's keep it real…I'm not good at summarizing my own work…lol…Just trust me…it's a fabulous B&E story.**_

_**City of Sin, by WutheringBites – She is awesome! I try not to overuse that word, but she has a gift. Every chapter of this story has me sitting on the edge of my seat. It's a thriller, mystery, B&E love story. She makes me want to start over. Her Copward is divine.**_

_**Pound of Flesh, by jaxon22 – This is another B&E fic that had me from the title. The character development in the story is unbelievable. You care about her characters with all of their flaws, quirks and goodness so much by the time you delve into the story you want to sit down and have a beer with them. It's full of lemony goodness, as well. **_

_**Dirty Little Secrets, by Brits23 and Lazykate – Oh my goodness! This story is such an emotional rollercoaster! At first, I wasn't going to finish reading it because my heart would literally be in my throat in regards to 'the secret.' In this story's case, the reader knows the secret, but the characters do not. But, it is so well-written and you really care so much about the characters that it sucks you in. Also, their author's notes at the end are just as entertaining as the story itself. **_

_**Whispered Words and False Promises, by lambcullen – This is a B&E fic that started out feeling like a mystery, but I have a feeling is going to end up being a very sweet love story. It's a little angsty, but it's worth it. **_


	10. Chapter 10

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**A/N: This is a short one because it's a continuation of the last chapter. **_

Chapter 10 – The Plan in Action /Part 2

When Edward walked back into the great room, Bella walked up to him and beckoned for him to follow her up to the third floor so they could talk privately. He followed because his body had no other choice. He wrapped his hands around her tiny waist and set his chin on her shoulder. She walked him into his room and asked him to sit down in the chair. She crawled into his lap and put her forehead to his.

He brought his hands to her face and pulled back so he can look her in the eyes. That's where he saw all of her emotion. He frowned a little.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"I have something to tell you and you're going to get mad, but I'm going to tell you anyway because I've already made up my mind about it and you should know what I've decided."

He looked at her nervously, but he didn't let go; in fact, he pulled her closer.

"I'm not who you think I am."

He looked at her big brown doe eyes, her sweet mouth, and strawberry cheeks.

"You're not the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life?"

She blushed and he smiled.

"I mean I'm not just a woman who wants to own a pastry shop."

He pulled her closer and implored her with his eyes to continue.

"I'm also a published author." She was wringing her hands waiting for a reaction.

He looked confused and said,

"You write? Okay. Well, that's good right? Is it anything I know?"

"You may not know it personally, but you do have a five-year old niece. She most likely has one of my books...They're pretty popular." Bella was examining his eyes intently like she was waiting for something to happen.

"Isabella, baby, do you want me to guess what books you write, or are you going to tell me and can you please explain why you're making this information seem so…scary?"

"I am H.R. Higgenbotham. I wrote the _King David Chronicle s_eries about the Teddy Bear who's a king in a magical hidden kingdom that kids can get to via their toy chests. It's a pen name."

He looked at her with his eyebrows knitted together.

"H.R. Higgenbotham is some old recluse who lives in the mountains of Colorado or some shit. His net worth is about $500 Million dollars the last time I read about him."

"Pfft. They always exaggerate that figure. It's more like $340 Million."

He scooted her back a little bit on his lap and looked at her like she was a little loony.

"Isabella, are you telling me that you are worth more than a quarter of a billion dollars, one of the most prolific and successful children's book authors of the last fifty years, and able to support the economy of a small developing country and still be wealthy. Is that what you're telling me?" His jaw was flexing and he was trying his best not to explode at her.

"Here's the thing…you're getting mad. See, what I need you to do is try to calm down a little."

He picked her up and set her down on the edge of his bed. He paced back and forth for a minute. Then he laid his head on the door and pounded on it a couple of times.

He walked in front of her and kneeled on the floor willing his heart rate to slow.

"I was trying to work within your choices and your life to keep you safe. You don't need that fucking job at the restaurant. You could have had a restaurant built from the ground up. Why didn't you tell me two days ago?"

"Okay, I see why you're mad. But, see, it's only been a couple of days and everything has been happening so fast. I did think about it. I really did. But, then, I found out I love you and that there's a possibility I can help stop this man from killing other young girls and I decided not to go."

He gripped the comforter on the bed so hard he thought it might rip apart. He laid his face in her lap for a second. He looked up at her searching her eyes for what was wrong with her. He was truly in love with this woman and he would make sure she got the best psychiatric help in the best facility in the world. He would visit her every single day.

"Isabella, are you completely insane? You are not a police officer. You don't have any obligations here. The only way you can help us is to get hurt, or risk not being there to raise your sister. What are you thinking sweetheart?"

"Well, no. I'm not crazy and it would be easy to just up and leave the state or the country. I do have more than one home. But, what would be easy is not necessarily what's right. So, I'm doing what's right. I sent Angela and Ben to stay in my other house in Seattle until further notice through Jasper…today. They should be there before the end of the day. I decided that as long as he's not killing other women, I'm staying until he's found. Amanda is safe because he'll feel he's able to get to me, so he won't have to use anyone to do it and she's being home schooled anyway. Everything's good and I know where Angela is." She smiled and kissed his hand apparently trying to calm him down. It didn't.

"Whitlock already knows what you're telling me now? You told him your plans before you told the man you're supposed to be in love with? What do you mean you have more than one home? Your building is owned by a trust in California. We've been unsuccessfully trying to contact the landlord." His brain still hadn't wrapped around the information she was giving him.

"I am the landlord. It's my building. I put it in trust for…anonymity's sake."

He sat there and blinked at her for what felt like twenty minutes, but was probably just a few seconds. The veins in his forearms were protruding and he was grinding his teeth. Any normal person would've tried to get away from him because he knew he looked somewhat feral, but Bella didn't budge. In fact, she wrapped her little arms around his neck and pushed her hands into his hair massaging his scalp. He really resented at that moment that she could make him feel so many contradictory things at the same time. She owned him. She had taken over his body, but he was still mad.

"I can't even decide who to be more pissed at…you, Jasper, or my own clueless ass. You've been making plans behind my back with my partner to stay here with a serial killer calling you a fucking succubus and a demon because you want to 'help catch him.'" He was using air quotes like Rose and that pissed him off even further.

"Yeah, Jasper told me about that. It's really odd. Why do you think he thinks that?"

He looked at her incredulously, "Did you just try to do a subject-change?"

"Edward, I really need you to calm down because this is not a negotiation. I am not leaving Chicago. So, I'll give you time to process that. I'll be downstairs in the kitchen. I'm starving." She tried to ease out of the trap that his forearms and his body had formed around her, but he didn't move.

"You want me to process this and you'll be in the kitchen?" He was still looking at her like she had sprouted extra arms.

She finally slid under his arm and squeezed by his thigh.

"Yep. You want anything?"

She almost made it to the door, but he grabbed her around the waist and dropped her back onto the middle of his bed.

"Edward, I know you need to let off steam until you can think straight, so we probably should talk about this at your place a little later, okay?"

His hair was wild and hung over his shoulders as he crawled up her body and his eyes locked with hers.

"Are you high? How do you think I'm going to process that you're staying here because you love me? You loving me might kill you. You have a way to have a long and healthy life. You're risking that and the ability to watch your baby sister grow to be here with me? "

"I don't really see it that way. I have resolved that whatever my fate is, it's connected to you. So, I'm not going anywhere you don't go."

"I know what I'll do. I have money. I'll send you to wherever else you live myself. Why didn't I think of that before? I should be able to find out that information. I'll just call Ben and threaten his life."

Bella grabbed his face and said forcefully,

"No."

He growled and leaned down putting his forehead to hers willing his body to calm down because he wanted to kiss her and shake some sense into her at the same time. His mouth went to her ear.

"Isabella Marie Swan, I will handcuff you to this bed until I can get a flight to Seattle and send your pretty little bubble ass that I really want to bite right now out of here on the next thing smoking."

She petted his cheek somewhat condescendingly and kissed his bottom lip and then his top lip.

"If I needed a flight out I could just use my own plane. My agent insisted I buy the stupid thing. I only use it three times a year. I'm not going anywhere until there are no other options."

He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Edward! You're being a little bit of a caveman right now and you know in the Flintstones Wilma was always right."

What she just said confirmed to him that she's out of her mind. She was talking about a cartoon instead of getting the hell out of Chicago.

He walked quickly down the three flights of stairs into the great room where everyone was laughing and talking. Jasper was back and Alice was sitting on his lap. Rose and Emmett were watching a movie with them. He didn't know where his parents were.

They all looked at him because he looked a little crazy and he was not putting her down.

"Edward, the last time I checked Bella was walking, talking and eating whole foods all on her own." Rose quipped.

He finally put her down, but he couldn't let her go. Pains were shooting through his chest. Jasper eased Alice off of his lap because he knew what Bella just told Edward. He put his hands up and started walking towards him like he was talking to a wild animal.

"Cullen, man, calm the fuck down okay. Let me have Bella for a second."

Edward spun towards him,

"Do you think I'm going to hurt her, Whitlock? I love this nutcase. I'm trying to figure out where I can get some sedatives so I can knock her out and carry her and Amanda to O'Hare Airport. Is my father still here?"

Bella stomped her foot and looked at him,

"If you call me a nutcase or crazy one more time…I'm …I'm going to have Rose put you in another headlock while I…Shit! I can't hurt you. So, stop it!

They stood there staring at each other and Jasper carefully spaced himself between the stand-off. He placed himself in front of Isabella.

"Cullen, let's go and talk in the kitchen over some brews. Then, we can all calm down and talk about why Isabella is making the best decision for everybody."

"Whitlock, if you don't move your head out of my sight of vision, I'm going to try to snap it off your neck."

Jasper didn't move and Alice came up and put her arms around Edward's

"Edward, go to your happy place. Give this about twenty minutes and everything will look different."

Everybody in the room was staring at him. He really didn't want to take his anger out on his sister.

"Mae Mae, let go, doll." She let go, but stood next to Jasper in front of Bella.

Edward started to laugh hysterically.

"Oh, the love of my life needs protection from _me_ because I don't want her to stay in a city where she can be murdered."

He walked over to the vase on the stand by the door and picked it up, but he put it back down because his biological mother gave it to his mother. He went to the closet and pulled out a baseball bat. Then he put it back. He walked towards the TV and suddenly punched through it hitting wall. Everything went black and smoke from the set began to fill the air.

Isabella immediately ran towards him. His hand was bleeding. She grabbed a linen napkin off the coffee table and wrapped it around his hand and said,

"Shit! Sweetie, I'm so sorry."

He gently eased her away, "You can't stand the smell of blood. I'll take care of this. Go get your things and Amanda's things together so I can get you out of this city."

"Edward, I am not leaving. I will be wherever you are in the world and I don't want to hear you tell me again what I'm going to do!" She did sit down because she was obviously getting woozy.

Emmett and Rose laughed,

"Monster, you should've used your foot. That would've been way more effective."

Carlisle and Esme walked into the room and looked at the mess.

"What happened? We were only gone thirty minutes." Esme looked at all of the people in the room for an answer and nobody said anything.

Carlisle walked over and took a look at his hand.

"It's not too bad. You might need a couple of stitches."

He looked at the 60 inch wall mounted flat panel TV that had a giant hole through the middle and asked,

"Edward, do you want to tell me what my TV did to you on the way to my office?"

****DBW****

They sat in silence while Carlisle wiped Edward's hand down with antiseptic and put three stitches in his left hand.

"So, you're having a pretty rough day, huh? Carlisle mentioned casually.

Edward laughed.

"Apparently, I'm in love with the children's book version of Stephen King. She has various residences that she can fly off to on her own plane at her own volition. One of which, by the way, will soon be occupied by my cousin and her best friend. She has deep and meaningfully detailed conversations with my partner, but tells me, who she's supposed to love, I have no say in her safety anymore." He huffed out his frustration.

Carlisle tried his best not to laugh at his son who had finally met his match and fallen in love with her.

"Well, son, didn't you do the same thing to her yesterday?"

Edward thought about that for a few minutes.

"Yeah, but…I'm an asshole. My Isabella's not an asshole."

He put his head in his hands. He had been through so many emotional states that day that he needed to just go and decompress somewhere.

Carlisle finally let out his laughter.

"You two will work it out. That's what relationships are all about. Now, go back out there and play nice. I want my TV replaced tomorrow, hothead."

They heard two light raps on the door. Carlisle opened it and Bella walked in. She thanked him and walked over to Edward.

She looked at his hand and smiled,

"That's not so bad." She kissed it and wouldn't let go.

His heart melted even though he was still mad.

"Everybody's in the basement watching a movie, since the TV's broken." She looked down contritely.

He picked up her chin and watched her liquid brown eyes and how soft they were when she looked at him. He grabbed her hand and turned around to tell his dad he was leaving, but he was already gone.

"Baby, can Amanda stay here tonight. We need to talk and we need some privacy."

She nodded. He hurried her out to the multi-car garage, where he carefully eased her into the passenger side of his black 2010 Mercedes SLS AMG that used to be his baby before Isabella took its place. It was just a week ago that he would have stood and stared lustfully at the lines and curves of his sleek black highway machine with the soft deep brown leather bucket seats custom designed just for him. The hood and truck were long and curvy like the torso of a woman and the rust-orange colored ceramic brake pads were visible through the spokes of his wheels. They always reminded him of a woman's stiletto heels worn just to emphasize the curve of her calves and to elongate her legs. He had actually named her _Gloria _after his first crush in high school. He slipped into the driver's seat and shut the door. It had that new car buttery leather smell that he usually loved, but it frustrated him today because he couldn't smell her vanilla scent as strongly. Having his Isabella and his _Gloria_ next to him and under him was like his own personal version of a ménage a trois.

"Whose car is this? Don't you drive a silver Volvo?" Bella inquired as she ran her little hands over the dashboard like she did when she caressed his face causing his body to react. He shifted himself a little in his seat trying to discreetly adjust himself. He had to think of crying babies and Emmett's face that morning when he told him he was just an adopted kid to calm his body down.

"Mine."

He watched her as she squirmed in her seat and a sexy slow smile lit up her face. He had no idea what was going on in her head. What she had told him earlier had completely flipped his lid. He had a lot of questions.

"The Volvo is my city car. But, I'll have to take this one since Alice brought me here."

He dialed a number through the dashboard screen and eventually Alice's voice was piped through the speakers.

"_Hey, Edward. Why are you calling me from your car? We were waiting for your tantrum to end so we can play Spades with you."_

"Isabella and I are on our way back to my place. Can you keep Amanda tonight? We'll be back before she wakes up in the morning."

"_Yeah. That's no problem at all. You don't even have to rush back. Can Bella hear me?"_

"Yep." Isabella said happily.

"_I was going to take her by to meet Emily when Rose and Em leave to pick her up, is that okay?"_

"Yeah, I think she'd like that. Tell her I love her and I'll be home before she can miss me at all."

"_Okey dokey. Bye you two. Edward, everything's going to be okay. This is just a rough patch." Then, she hung up_.

He shook his head and pulled out of the garage down the long driveway onto the street. They drove in silence for a few minutes.

"I hate it when Mae Mae does that."

"What, sweetie?"

He smiled a little because he loved it when she called him that.

"Predicts the future like Ms. Cleo?"

"Ms. Cleo was a fraud. Rose told me Alice is usually right." She winked at him and grabbed his hand that was resting on his leg. He couldn't wait to get her home.

****DBW****

He was speeding down I-55, which he never did anymore. But, he was impatient to spend alone time with her and was trying to get into the city before rush hour officially began. As he exited the expressway and hit Lake Shore Drive, he peeked over at Isabella who was smiling and watching the scenery like a little kid. Everything she did was adorable to him. It was sickening when he saw this in other couples, but he couldn't help it. She was such a precious little person. She looked over at his speedometer and yelled,

"Holy shit!" He jumped a little and looked at her like he had been for the last thirty minutes or so…like she was completely off her rocker.

"Is there a problem, baby?"

"Yes! You're going almost ninety miles an hour. Is there a fire somewhere, Speedy Gonzalez?"

He was still looking at her in disbelief, "Let me get this straight…you're not afraid of staying in Chicago and being murdered by a serial killer. However, you have a problem with how fast I'm going in this car?"

"Look, my dad was a cop. He taught me to obey the law and I don't speed. I didn't say I wasn't afraid. I said I wasn't leaving. Anyway, it's more likely that we'll die in a car accident right now than anything else. By the way, you may want to put your pretty green orbs back on the road."

He rolled his eyes at her and shook his head. He was sure Chicago had a top rate mental hospital that was close by. He would have to do some research when he got home. Maybe his dad could recommend something. He slowed down slightly to eighty and continued on his way to his loft in Hyde Park.

They pulled into his underground garage of Nelson's gym within twenty minutes. It normally took him about forty. He guided her through a side entrance to the locker room until they reached a door that looked like a maintenance closet and opened it. It was an elevator. He stuck his security card in, entered his security code, and pressed a button. The doors opened and he gently pulled her in with his arms around her waist hugging her back to his front as he leaned against the back wall. When they stopped, the doors opened to the foyer area of his loft.

"Uhm, are you sure you're not Batman?"

"I think I should be asking you something similar, Wonder Woman. Is your plane invisible? Besides, Batman had an underground cave. I don't."

She turned to respond to him and he was so close her lips brushed over the middle of his chest. He bent down and picked her up by the back of her thighs and she wrapped her legs around his waist and locked her ankles behind the small of his back. It felt like that was the natural place for her body to be and where she should've always been. He walked her into the loft into the sitting area and laid her down on his couch. He reached down and took off her sneakers and he kissed her ever so sweetly and gently on her invitingly soft lips, which caused her to sigh.

"Welcome home, pretty girl." He kissed her softly right behind the back of her ear.

"Don't you mean welcome to your home?" She smiled at him and sucked her bottom lip into her mouth.

He used his thumb to gently pull her lip away from her teeth and he sucked and nibbled on her bottom lip like it was an orange slice. She reached her tongue out and traced his top lip until he moaned and pulled away reluctantly. She batted her big brown eyes and long dark eyelashes at him and smiled sweetly.

"I meant what I said and I'm still pissed at you. Don't give me those innocent eyes, Higgenbotham."

He picked her up and turned her over and swatted her on her ass swiftly while he sucked loudly on and growled into the space between her neck and shoulder. She squealed. He held her down and tickled her sides. She was kicking and wiggling.

"Okay. I'm sorry for making you mad. Uncle. Uncle."

"That's what I thought." He smooched her cheek and moved away.

He stood up and started turning on the lights and locking up the elevator. Then, he saw a flash of brown run towards him. He turned around and she leaped into his arms.

He caught her and he fell back against the wall laughing,

"What the hell was that?"

"It's the element of surprise. It gives one the upper hand in all scenarios." She wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Give me a tour." She kissed him on both of his cheeks, his nose, and his eyelids. Then she gave him a sweet lip to lip kiss that made his toes curl in his shoes."

They stared at each other and he traced her face with his fingers like he was memorizing her. She closed her eyes and sighed. He slowly let her slide down his body. His chest was filled up with so much of something he couldn't identify. It wasn't a pain exactly. It was just full.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him forward like she was going into an amusement park.

"I want to see your kitchen." She let go of his hand and bounced into his kitchen and went right to his refrigerator. It was like watching a bright light of good energy fill up his loft. Everywhere she moved he got a waft of her vanilla scent which was the same scent he used, but people told him he smelled like chocolate chip cookies. She smelled like sugar cookies and ice cream. She had already gone though all of his cabinets and drawers and _oohed_ and _ahhhed_ over his appliances. She grabbed water out of the refrigerator and gave him a Guinness.

"You have the best kitchen EVER!" He smiled at her warmly.

"I like the rooster. It reminds me of you." She climbed on his lap and kissed his nose, and then she jumped down and walked into the living room. He was in a little bit of a daze. He couldn't believe she was in his home. She was the only woman that wasn't related to him that had been there. When he dated Tanya, they always went to her place. He took the cap off his beer and reached into the back and pulled out a Corona that he kept there for Emmett.

He kicked off his sneakers and pulled off his sweatshirt and tossed it on the kitchen stool.

She was sitting in his favorite chair and had turned on the TV. He smiled big because now he had new reasons for it to be his favorite. He walked over to her and set the beers down on the side table. He scooped her up and sat down with her in his lap.

"Look what I found." He handed her a Corona. She clapped and took it from him.

"Thanks, oh wonderful giver of beer goodness." She took two big swigs and said,

"Aaaaahhhhh." He laughed loudly at her imitating him. She snuggled into his chest under his chin.

"I like your place. It's cozy and snuggly like you." She kissed his chin and wiggled down further on his lap. He thought to himself that she was like a cuddly kitten.

They just sat like that while they watched movies. He took the time to really look at his Isabella. She had a little flat mole on the left side of her nose that he kissed. He had to make sure to make her wear sunscreen and notice if it changed shape at all. He took off her socks and she squealed and laughed because she's really ticklish. He examined her little toes. She had pretty little manicured feet. He picked up her hands and wondered how an adult could have hands that little. He kissed her palms.

"Ed-waaard. Are you watching this? This is classic funny. It's _Tommy Boy_."

He nodded and said yes, but he had already seen it so many times he could recite the dialogue. He was watching her.

He looked at her neck. It was long like a swan's and he chuckled a little at that. She gave him a look and kissed his cheek.

"You have whiskers." She rubbed her cheek against his.

"Does that bother you?" He would've gotten up right then and shaved his face clean if it did.

"Nope. I like whiskers." She gave him little pecks of kisses from the bottom of his earlobe across his jaw line to the bottom of his chin. He didn't understand how something so sweet could be so sexy. Then, she snuggled back up against him.

He slid his hand through her hair. It felt like a fine silk scarf. He didn't have a preference for long or short hair, as long as the woman was comfortable with herself and it looked nice on her. But, he loved her hair. He would probably have to sew his mouth shut if she ever cut it. He kissed the back of her neck right at her hairline. There was a mole there, too.

He took a little break because he was becoming excited and that wasn't what this was about for him. Not yet. He just wanted to know her; every inch of her. They watched _Coming to America_ and she knew all the dialogue. He thought he was going to fall out of the chair laughing when she yelled out,

"Sexy chocolate!"

She also sang the "She's Your Queen to Be Song" verbatim. He listened to her laughing and noticed that sometimes it was loud. Other times it was giggly and sometimes she snorted, but she would cover her mouth when she did that, which was adorable.

She fell asleep on his lap after only having two beers. She was a lightweight. He chuckled about that. He picked up his little ball of love and carried her up to his bedroom, so while he was making her dinner, the noise wouldn't wake her up.

He unzipped her hoodie thinking she had on a t-shirt underneath, but she didn't. Her lacy midnight blue bra was revealed and a moan involuntarily escaped his mouth and he licked his lips remembering her sweet flavor from earlier that day. Alice had bought her some things when she found out about her place. He tried not to ogle her because he wouldn't have ever left the bedroom and he knew she was hungry. However, he couldn't help but notice how lovely his favorite color was against her skin and how her full breasts filled out the bra and spilled over a little. He lightly kissed the top of each mound as he pulled one of his t-shirts out of his chest of drawers and pulled it down over her head. She lifted her arms like a baby and he pulled each one through as he chuckled at her sleepy attempt to help him. He lifted up her bottom pulled her sweatpants down her toned and surprisingly long legs. She had on matching lace boy cut panties. He had seen all different types of the scrappy material that woman try to pass off as underwear, but there was something about these on her that made him truly reconsider why he brought her there. He was in love with her crazy beautiful ass. He was going to make love to her when she let him. He was hoping that would be soon, but he could wait. Her creamy thighs reminding him of a vivid and erotic dream he recently had. He lightly traced the curve of her ass with his hand and bent down and kissed her on her hip right above her panty line and he couldn't help but nibble a little. She giggled and wiggled while she was half asleep. He smiled and pulled the cover over her and kissed her forehead. She was all his. His heart swelled and he started to panic a little, but she rolled over and kissed his hand that was next to her lips on the pillow and his heart rate slowed.

He finally tore himself away from her and went back down to the kitchen. He wanted to make something simple for her. So, he perused the contents of his cabinets and refrigerator that his Isabella had recently gone through and he decided just to grill some salmon filets with brown rice and a tossed salad. That would take about thirty minutes; mostly for the rice. He had some diced tomatoes to put over the rice and a nice white wine to serve with the salmon. He was partial to Riesling, but the salmon filets were meaty so he also thought he would have a nice Pinot Noir on hand if she wanted red. It hit him how little he really knew about her again with a force that made him stop in his tracks.

Did she even like fish like salmon? She seemed to like the halibut he made at his grandmother's. Was she allergic to anything? He nervously continued to prepare a meal for someone he loved that he had yet to really get to know.

She was H.R. Higgenbotham. He tried not to think about that at the moment. That discussion was going to happen later. But, as he was preparing the meal, images of Amanda with her teddy bear, Davie, kept popping into his head. She had a blanket tied around his neck. He thought it was a superhero cape, not a royal robe. Isabella was right about the fact that he was familiar with her stories because of his niece. Emily's entire room in his loft and in her room in Evanston were decorated like the hidden kingdom of H.R. Higgenbotham's stories. They are her favorite stories. Every time he thought about how many ways he was connected to Isabella his head started to swim.

As he was finishing up the dish, Isabella walked in the room with his t-shirt on, her sweatpants, bare feet and her thick hair up in a messy ponytail. She sniffed the air and smiled,

"That smells good, Edward." She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and laid her head on his back.

He let out a breath and smiled.

"I was hoping you like salmon. Are you allergic to anything I should know about?"

"Nope, but Amanda is allergic to shellfish."

He nodded making a mental note.

He turned around in her arms and scooted down so he could kiss her. Her breath smelled fresh and minty. He smiled at the thought that she made herself at home. He kissed her neck and hugged her close to him.

"Sit down, baby. I'm serving you this time." He walked over to his kitchen island and pulled out the stool for her where he had set a place for her. He lent her his hand so she could climb up on the tall stools. He made a note to himself to buy a lower kitchen table and smaller seats for his girls. Emily usually ate in the front room on the floor in front of the ottoman.

They sat and ate in comfortable silence. Isabella moaned her appreciation of the flavors he had thrown together. She had two pieces, which really made him smile. He loved a woman that wasn't afraid to eat. Everything about her was sexy to him.

She sat back in her stool and patted her full stomach, which couldn't resist moving her hand and kissing. She giggled and kissed his nose. They cleared the table together and cleaned up. This time he loaded the dishwasher.

After they finished cleaning up, he took her hand gently and guided her to the stairs.

"Let me show you something, Isabella."

She nodded and followed him up the steps to his loft area and they went into the room he designated for Emily. Isabella gasped and spun around the room. It was almost an exact replica of the kingdom depicted in the movie. Esme and Alice had outdone themselves on the decorating.

She sat down on the bed and looked up at him with teary eyes and a big smile,

"You are familiar with my stories, huh?" He nodded and sat next to her on the full size bed.

"I was thinking about maybe buying some bunk beds so Emily and Amanda can share this room."

Bella straddled his lap and kissed his forehead.

"You don't have to do that. She can sleep with me in the other guestroom. This is a special room for Emily. Amanda doesn't need this."

He looked down bashfully and said softly,

"I thought maybe we could share my room and Amanda could have her own room, or share. I-I sleep better when I'm near you. But, if you think that's inappropriate, or too soon, I completely understand."

Her cheeks turned red and she looked deeply into his eyes.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into. I snore and I'm messy and you're pretty neat and organized."

He chuckled at her, "You don't snore that loud. You talk in your sleep a little, but I don't mind. I like it, in fact. It's very entertaining." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

They both became quiet until Bella began to speak,

"Edward, I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything right away and that I told Jasper things first that I didn't tell you."

"Baby, I'm the most concerned about the fact that you seem to think it's your job to sacrifice yourself so everyone else can be okay and that's not necessary. I love the fact that you're brave and selfless, but it scares me because I think it's making you take risks you don't need to."

She played with the bottom of his braids and laid her head on his shoulder. He scooted her back in the bed and leaned back against the headboard.

"You can't change my mind, Edward."

He sighed, "I know. You're pretty stubborn."

She smiled and shrugged her shoulders, "Looks who's talking?"

He turned to her excitedly, "So tell me about your writing love. It's excellent! When did you start? Why Higgenbotham? Where did you get that name from? You must've been just barely twenty when you were published. Why did you want to work with my grandmother, instead of starting your own shop? Why do you want to bake since you're such a good writer?"

He was about to open his mouth to ask another question and she covered it with her hand and starting laughing.

"I can only answer one question at a time, sweetie."

He smiled at her and stood up carrying her out of the room.

"You know I can walk on my own." She smiled brightly at him.

"Why would you want to do that when you have a perfectly capable snuggle-machine at your disposal?"

She laughed and slapped her forehead.

"What was I thinking? Where are we going now, snuggle-machine?"

"Downstairs so we can smooch and snuggle some more."

She threw her head back laughing at him and her shoulders shook. He loved the way she laughed. It was real.

"You are so cute sometimes."

He mocked offense, "Cute? I'm not cute. I'm ruggedly handsome."

Isabella smiled warmly at him, "You are a handsome stud." She kissed his neck below his ear like he had done to her earlier. His body shivered and electricity shot down his spine.

"Then, we can play a little game where we can find out everything we need to know about each other." He smiled at her suggestively.

"Hmmm…that sounds interesting. Will alcohol be involved?"

He kissed her sweetly, "Most definitely."

She waggled her eyebrows at him, "I'm in."

When they reached the living room area, they situated themselves in front of the circle pit that was his fire place on some pillows from his couch. They had what was left of the bottle of pinot noir two glasses and an ice bucket.

"Sooo, what game are we playing?" Isabella asked sweetly.

"Twenty questions." He sipped his wine and looked at her for approval.

She smiled at him and nodded her okay.

Edward started the questioning,

"First question, why are you raising Amanda alone?"

****DBW****

_**A/N: Until next time my lovely readers. I wanted to leave you with a little bit of a cliff hanger and I changed my mind about making it a two-parter. It's a three parter. **_

_**I hope you liked it what I have here so far. **__** Edward is kind of sappy right now over Bella. But, new love is like that. It won't be sickeningly sweet for too long. **_

_**So, Bella is finally in Edward's lair and they're a few steps closer to trying to make their plan work.**_

_**I should be posting again before the weekend is out, but I can't make any promises. **_

_**Thanks for all of the reviews! They keep me motivated. **_

_**Leave me love or let me know what you didn't' like, if you feel so inclined. **_


	11. Chapter 11

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**A/N: ATTENTION! ATTENTION! There will be lemons in this chapter. It's not gratuitous citrus, but it's citrusy nonetheless. So, if you're sensitive to these things, I wanted to make you aware. Also there is talk of rape in this chapter. So, if this is a personal topic for you and it may trigger something for you, please don't read it.**_

_**If anybody reading this has lost family or is waiting to hear about family in Japan, my thoughts and prayers are with you and I offer my sincere condolences to those that have lost loved ones.**_

Chapter 11 – The Plan in Action/Part 3

"First question, why are you raising Amanda alone?"

Bella took a sip of her wine and folded her legs yogi style on the floor.

"About four years after my dad was killed, my mom, Renee, moved us to Phoenix, AZ. She was ten years younger than my dad when they married and I guess she was always a little restless and flighty. But, after dad passed, it became more pronounced, for lack of a better word. She was trying to 'find herself' and I was home alone a lot. One of the Quileutes, Sue Clearwater, owned a diner in town…Leah's mom. Sue let me work there during the school year so I could have some extra cash. I worked there from the time I was fourteen until I was sixteen. So, I stayed pretty busy to keep my mind off how lonely I felt, I guess."

Edward put his glass down and gave her his full attention.

"Well, a few months after we moved she met and married a younger guy. By younger, I mean six years older than me."

Edward looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"She was thirty-six and he was twenty-three. His name is Phil. He's Cuban…well mostly. His father was only half Cuban. That's where his last name, Dwyer, comes from. I didn't have a problem with it because I never had any siblings, so it felt like I was getting a big brother and I really liked him a lot. He played minor league baseball and he made my mom happy. She finally seemed settled. She had gotten her teaching degree and started working as a kindergarten teacher. It was okay."

Edward felt she was too far away from him so he grabbed her and pulled her between his legs so she could lean against his back and he could hug her when her story got sad because he had a feeling it would be soon.

"Well, I decided that as soon as I graduated high school I was moving out. I had a little money that my dad left me and Angela, one of the few friends I had in Phoenix, decided that she wanted to go to the University of Washington to get her degree. So, we moved to Seattle together. She went to school and I spent my time trying to figure out my next move. I hated school and I sure as shit didn't want to do four more years of the same."

He nodded against her shoulder letting her know he was still listening.

"I always loved baking with my Granda Swan. It was a real passion of mine. So, I decided I would get a job in a bakery so I could be around what I loved. I worked at a bakery called _Macrina_. I really loved the owner. She really felt that bread was life and had a passion for the way baking made people feel connected to each other and to their community."

She looked at him and he smiled.

"I know it's corny. So, just shut up." She rubbed her hand down his face.

"I didn't say anything." He laughed because he was thinking it was a little corny.

"I know what you were thinking. Anyway, I had been there two years when I got a call from my mom telling me she was pregnant. I was really happy for her, but she told me she had bad news." She looked down and played with the hem of her shirt. He grabbed her hands and laced his fingers through hers.

"I could tell something was wrong because her voice slurred. My mom was a lot of things, but she didn't get drunk. She rarely touched the stuff and she definitely wouldn't have been drinking while she was pregnant. She told me she had a brain tumor. My first thought was okay how do we get rid of it."

Edward squeezed her around her middle and pulled her closer.

"She told me it was in the middle of her brain in a place where it was inoperable and it was malignant."

Edward kissed the top of her head.

"It took me a minute to process what she was saying. She was basically telling me that she was having a baby and dying at the same time. Then, she told me she was moving to Florida with Phil because he had just been drafted by the Florida Marlins and there was a cancer research center there that was doing experimental treatments that could prolong her life long enough to carry the baby."

"She told me not to worry and that the best thing I could do to help her is to keep living my life."

"Isabella, are you talking about Phil Dwyer that gave Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa a run for their money in home run hits, Phil Dwyer?"

"Yeah, he was my step-dad. He's Amanda's father."

"Isn't he one of the highest paid athletes in the league?"

"Yep."

"Why are you raising his daughter?" He was getting angry.

"Well, I got a call about a month before my mom was due from Phil in tears telling me that my mom was on life-support and had requested that her body be kept functioning until it was safe to take the baby by C-section."

"I flew to Florida to be with Phil and he was a complete mess. He was twenty-five, a star athlete, and on the verge of losing his wife and taking care of a baby alone. His family was in Cuba and all he really had there were a few cousins and me. He was a complete wreck emotionally."

"We were in such a strange place in the hospital. My mother was technically in hospice care, but they were prepping for the baby to end up in the neo-natal intensive care unit and her OB/Gyn was in and out."

Edward shook his head wondering how a nineteen-year old was able to deal with all of this. She had already lost her father in a tragic way. Her mother was dying and she was getting a sister that the father didn't seem prepared to take care of at all.

"To make a long story short, they took the baby about three days after I got there. She was a premie, so she was in NICU right away. They unplugged my mom and I got to hold her hand when she took her last breath on her own. I was glad I was the one to do that."

Edward wiped a tear that rolled down her face.

"I could see Phil shutting down emotionally. He didn't even want to look at the baby. He wouldn't even name her. I finally lied and told him mom wanted to name her Amanda…Amanda Renee. So that's what's on her birth certificate."

"You named your baby sister?" He looked at her with wide eyes.

"Yeah." He kissed her cheek and put his cheek next to hers.

"She was little, but she was such a pretty baby! She already had a full head of dark hair. I fell in love with her instantly. I always wanted a little sister or brother and I finally had one." She smiled weakly.

"I stayed in Florida for a little while so that when Amanda came home I could help Phil out. We had to plan the funeral. He just seemed overwhelmed. So, I made all the arrangements in between going back and forth to the hospital."

Edward shook his head at how amazing this woman was and she didn't even seem to know it.

"Phil was there, but not really. He didn't cry at the funeral. It looked like he was a zombie. When we brought Amanda home he wouldn't do anything. I had to feed her, change her, and take her to her doctor's appointments. He told me that he couldn't take any time off to take care of a baby. He gave me money to take of her needs, but he didn't do anything else."

"One day when he came home, I walked up to him and laid her in his arms. He looked at her like she was a bomb. I asked him to just hold her on his shoulder. I showed him how. He wouldn't do it. I asked him if I could take her home with me when it was safe to travel and he said yeah with no hesitation."

"A month later Amanda was in Seattle with me. She had a few lung problems. She needed constant care, so I couldn't go back to work. Phil sent me very generous monthly checks and that's what we lived on. Angela started helping me and we did that for about ten months until I called Phil and asked him when he was coming to get his daughter."

"He told me he couldn't raise a daughter without my mom. He felt that if she didn't carry Amanda, they could've been more aggressive against her cancer and he wouldn't have lost her. I told him that was completely ridiculous that he was blaming the baby for my mom's death. Then, he told me that his public image and work wouldn't allow him to raise a child anyway. It was complete bullshit, but he refused"

Edward was so angry at the moment that he wanted to hunt Phil down and hit him repeatedly until he knocked some sense into his head.

"I took him to court for custody. Except for financial support, he had basically abandoned his daughter. He relinquished his parental rights and allowed me to adopt her. I was so mad at him at the time; I had her last name legally changed to Swan."

"What do you mean 'at the time'? Aren't you still angry with him?"

"No. I couldn't stay angry with him for long. I love Amanda and there are so many things about her that are like him and he is a good man, he just didn't handle things well. We speak occasionally. He's remarried now. He actually has two little girls."

Edward was floored.

"What? He is raising his other kids? What about his public image?"

She looked at him and patted his cheek.

"That was never the issue, sweetie."

Edward was really pissed.

"Isabella, I don't even know what to say. You are probably one of the best people I have ever met in my life besides my parents."

"It's not a big deal, Edward. I just did what I had to do." She shrugged.

They were quiet for a while.

"So, it's my turn." Bella said eagerly.

"I know something happened to Rose that you helped her with. Can you tell me what happened?"

He cleared his throat because he never liked to talk about this, but he felt she would be safe to tell. He would leave some things for Rose to tell her on her own. It wasn't his story to tell really.

"Rose was dating this idiot when we were in high school named Royce King. He was always in some kind of weird competition with me for popularity and status and shit. I didn't give a shit about all of that. We were on the football team together and I heard him talking about Rose…in a very negative way…with his boys. They were all talking about what they wanted to do to her and sharing her and shit."

"I didn't even know Rose at the time. She was a cheerleader, but I never saw her because I was varsity. She was a sophomore and I was a senior. Emmett had a little crush on her. That's the only way I knew her."

Bella turned around in his lap to look at him directly.

"One night after the game, I was in the locker room a little longer than usual because I hurt my leg and I was moving kind of slow. I heard muffled screams and I walked around the corner where Royce's boys were standing around cheering and moaning and shit."

"I walked over to see what was going on and I saw Royce on top of Rose trying to…"

He shook his head like he was trying to erase the image.

"I went wild. I threw those idiots against the locker and knocked them out. Then I pulled Royce's sadistic ass off of Rose. I grabbed his junk and squeezed. I wanted to break that shit completely off. I took him to the door and threw his naked ass out into the hallway and kicked him in it for good measure. Emmett was waiting for me and when he figured out what was going on he ran into the locker room. He covered up Rose and held her while she was crying and rocking back and forth. My heart broke for her.

One of those other idiots jumped up and tried to attack my brother. Just as I was about to put a severe hurting on him, Emmett jumped up and beat the ever loving shit out of him. I couldn't even stop him. Emmett was a little scrawny thing when he was a sophomore. I think he was shorter than Rose. But, I was even a little scared of him because of the way he wailed on that idiot. My father walked in and called the police. He stayed with Rose until they got there in the coach's office. The police arrested all four of them. Security held Royce's until they got there.

Bella was sitting there with her mouth hanging open.

"Did they actually…did she get…"

Edward shook his head.

"I don't know for sure, baby. You'll have to ask her that. I just know that they won't be doing that shit to another woman anytime soon because they were all tried as adults. Apparently, that wasn't the first time they had ganged up on a girl."

Bella was fuming.

"His father is some big muckety muck real estate dude or something. He tried to get Emmett and me arrested and to have his son press charges against us for 'attacking' them."

Bella jumped up,

"What?"

He gently pulled her back down on the floor.

"Nothing happened. The police laughed him out of the station and Carlisle got so pissed he physically threatened Royce's father. I don't think I've ever heard him curse as much as he did that day. I think I heard him threaten to run him over with his car until he was dead and then set his grave on fire for good measure."

Bella looked at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah. An angry Carlisle is something I try not to see…ever. People think I'm bad."

They sat trying to absorb each other's answers and then Isabella interrupted, the silence,

"I think we need to ask about lighter stuff like favorite colors or something."

Edward laughed.

"Yeah, I completely agree."

The wine was gone so they decided to give the liquor a rest.

"Okay, Ms. Higgenbotham, it's my turn." She smiled.

"When did you start writing?" She settled back in between his legs and leaned against his back.

"I've been writing stories since I was able to write. Higgenbotham is my mom's maiden name. Her mother's name was Helen. The "R" stands for Renee. My mom got me started actually. We would play a game together where we would look at three words on an index card and we had to make a story out of it. My mom would give a card with the words '_puppy_,' '_licorice_,' and '_rainy_,' for example, then I would have to create whole story out of it using those words."

"We came up with the craziest stuff. That's how we entertained each other when my dad was gone. Sometimes, my mom would drop me off at the library and just leave me there while she went shopping or took a class or something."

Edward gave her with a worried look.

"I know it seems irresponsible and neglectful to most people, but we lived in Forks. Everybody knew everybody and there was no real fear of me getting snatched or anything. I loved reading. I could get lost for hours and hours in these worlds that books created. I wasn't so lonely when I read either. I wasn't the most popular kid. My dad was a cop who hung out on the rez, my mom was kind of a hippie and I was extremely quiet. People thought I was odd I guess."

Edward ran his fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head.

"Eventually we had a shoebox full of index cards and I had written hundreds of short stories and dozens of novels by the time I was eighteen. I had them stacked in cardboard boxes in my closet with the ages that I wrote them scribbled on the side. I never let anybody read them but my mom. She thought I was a great writer, but I thought it was just mom bias."

"Well, Angela and I were moving boxes out of my closet to paint the spare room for her. She slept with me until she was two and a half. I went out to fix lunch for her and when I came back into the room she was sitting on the floor crying and reading one of my stories."

Edward smiled and kissed her cheek.

"I was mad, Edward. I felt like she had invaded my privacy. But, she ignored me and told me that people should be reading my stories. I just blew her off and put everything back, but she took some of my stories and sent them to a publisher without me knowing."

"I got a letter in the mail from a publishing company about a month later saying they wanted to meet with me. I didn't like the bigger houses. They seemed too impersonal. I finally met with a small publishing house that was just starting out. They were really excited about the possibilities of _The King David_ stories. When I told Lesley, one of the owners, how many stories I had written, she nearly had a coronary. She wanted to sign me right away. I contacted my attorney that I used for the custody hearing and she recommended my attorney, Jason Jenks. He looked over my contract with me and I signed with them because they were willing to meet all of my conditions of anonymity. I figured I could use the ridiculous amount of money they were offering me to set up a college fund for Amanda, so it was worth it, but I didn't want fame. I hired an agent Jenks trusted, Embry Call, and things took off from there."

"Damn, Bella! That is something else. I mean, there's merchandising, movies, and all this hoopla around your work, but you're working at my grandmother's little diner in Hyde Park?"

"Well, I came to Chicago for a couple of reasons. Iris, Angela's mother, is my accountant and financial advisor. She suggested I needed more tax shelters and that I should invest in more real estate. I saw the brownstone in Chicago through a realtor's web site that I knew of. I thought the architecture was beautiful and Angela had just been offered the job at Bennigan's as the Regional Manager. So, I made the move to buy the property and we all moved to the Windy City."

He smiled at how lucky he was Angela accepted that job.

"I didn't want to just open up a shop and turn it over to someone else to run and manage. I wanted to run it myself, understand business and how to manage a staff. I didn't want to play with anybody's life. Employees have babies and grandparents and sick brothers and sisters to take care of; college funds to set up. They're looking for a steady reliable job. I wanted to pay my dues so people could depend on me. So, I decided to bite the bullet and go back to school for business and get my certification as a baker. It took me three years, but I did it."

"I had heard about Shirley through some people in my class and how long she had successfully run her business in Hyde Park. When I heard she was looking for a manager I jumped at the opportunity to try to get hired on there. She's a legend in the baking world around here. I had a job at a small bakery that was okay, but I wanted something with more responsibility. So, I took my chances and it worked out."

Edward smiled with pride.

"Isabella, I don't think I've ever met anyone like you before. What person who could take short cuts wouldn't want to? I really like you just about as much as I love you."

Her eyes got a little misty and she said,

"I like you, too."

He turned her around in his lap and said what he had been forming in his mind for the last hour,

"I've been thinking about your plan. If we can orchestrate things well so you're never in any real danger of being snatched, I think the idea of luring him out is a good thing. I agree that as long as we're watching Amanda and she stays inside everything should be fine. Nobody's getting into my place and I know someone who's a teacher that can help. Charlotte's husband, Peter, is an elementary school teacher. He's taking a leave to work on a book. You would really like him, I think. He's Ben's best friend. I would trust him with my life and yours and that's saying a lot. I think I can convince him to work with us."

Bella smiled softly at him.

They looked at the clock on the DVD player and noticed it was already midnight. They had lost track of whose turn it was a long time ago. Edward jumped up excitedly,

"I want to show you something."

She got up and took his hand and they walked past the kitchen and the staircase to a room towards the back of the loft. He walked in with a big smile on his face. He turned on the lights to reveal a room filled with sound equipment, musical instruments, shelves full of CDs and vinyl. It was a tan color with bright fluorescent lights. There were deep brown leather settees and chaises in different corners. There was even a recording booth. He excitedly showed her everything and explained how it worked. She had no clue what he was talking about most of the time, but the thing that stood out to her was how his face lit up. She had never seen him so animated. She had noticed the baby grand in his front room that looked meticulously cared for and was sitting on its own elevated floor panel, but she had no idea he had a music room.

He walked towards the small wooden upright piano that looked just as lovingly cared for as the baby grand. He petted it and said,

"This was my mom's. She loved music probably more than I did. She was my first teacher." He smiled nostalgically. He ran his hand lovingly over the keys.

He sat at the bench and cracked his knuckles. He winced a little because his left hand was sore from smashing through the TV earlier. He played a piano version of a song that he had heard his mom and dad play almost every night his dad was home. It was a simple melody, soft and very pretty. Then he started to sing in his soft tenor.

_If I gave you my love_

_I'd tell you what I do_

_I'd expect a whole lot of love out of you_

_Mmmhmmmm…_

It was Al Green's, _Simply Beautiful. _He really loved the song and it reminded him of simpler times. He closed his eyes and really got into the emotion behind the lyrics. They meant much more to him now than they ever did before. The only thing he could see behind his eyes as he was singing was his Isabella's eyes and her smile.

_What about the way you love me, oooh_

_And the way you squeeze me_

_Heeey simply beautiful_…

He was getting into the last part of the song when he felt lips on his neck. His eyes snapped open and he stopped and turned towards his Isabella. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were watery. She was biting her lip and her lids were a little sleepy looking. He didn't understand what could have happened in the few minutes he had his eyes closed. He turned around and asked nervously,

"What's wrong, baby?"

She straddled his lap on the bench and kissed him with so much fervor he almost fell backwards. They both moaned from the heat and the electricity that was passing between them. She urged him to open his mouth with her tongue and he happily complied. She sucked on his tongue and the sensation went right to his cock. She winded her hips against him and his head fell back from the sensation separating him from her kiss.

"Isabella, we need to stop." He panted out the hardest four words that he had ever had to utter in his entire life.

She grinded against him again,

"Why? You don't want me?" He looked at her lust filled eyes and he grabbed her hips.

"Baby, I think you can feel how much I want you." He leaned his head against her forehead.

"It's too soon. We haven't talked about birth control or whether or not we've been tested and if we're clean. How are we going to handle things while Amanda's around?"

She was still sucking on his neck, nibbling and licking on his Adam's apple and he was not doing a very good job of keeping her hips still. He may have been guiding her a little.

Bella started taking his t-shirt that she was wearing off and he had to close his eyes because he was only flesh and blood.

"Isabella, for the love of all that is holy, plleeaase stop trying to take off your clothes."

"Edward, I want you. I'm clean. I got tested three years ago for everything. I was negative. I'm on birth control. I've never had sex without a condom. It'll be okay."

He got angry all of a sudden, "Why are you on birth control if you haven't had sex in three years?"

She laughed at him, "Edward, I'm on birth control to regulate my cycle. They were always irregular and heavy. My doctor prescribed them for medical reasons."

He knew he was a jealous idiot, but he still felt relief. "I get tested every year for my job. I'm negative, but do you really want this tonight, baby. I mean what brought this on?"

She looked at him like he was crazy, "Have you heard you sing?"

It was quiet for a second and then they both started laughing.

"This is because of me singing that little song."

She nodded biting her bottom lip and looking at him like he was a steak dinner.

He smiled at her and pulled her bottom lip away from her teeth.

"Sweetheart, it's been a while for both of us. I want our first time to be special. Don't you?"

She whined and pouted, "It would be special. Why do we have to wait? I know I love you and you love me."

All of his restraint had flowed away from his brain along with his blood. He looked at her chest. She was sweating and breathing hard. She was flushed pink from her neck up and her eyes had become an even deeper shade of brown. Her lips were swollen from kissing and he could see her nipples were erect through his shirt. She looked like sex on a stick. With all the strength he could muster he removed her from his lap.

"I know you don't think so right now, but if we rush into this part of things, you'll regret it. Trust me, baby."

She pouted and stood with her arms crossed over her breasts. He wanted to pull them away so he could stare some more. However, if looks could kill he'd be dead, so he was scared to touch her.

"So, I don't know what I want and you know better than me?"

He shook his head no, but before he could explain more she interrupted him.

"Fine. I'm taking a shower." She stomped off and he sat there like a deer caught in headlights.

"Damn!" Now she was mad at him. He thought maybe they could do other things just so they could both get a little satisfaction. But, he didn't know how she would be acting towards him now that she was mad at him.

He closed up his music room and cleaned up the area where they were sitting and talked. He locked up and turned off the lights and quietly walked up the stairs to his doom.

****DBW****

When he walked into his room, Isabella had left a trail of clothes from the door to the bathroom like breadcrumbs. He smiled because she told him she was messy. He picked her up her sweatpants and his t-shirt. Then he picked up her bra. He got excited thinking about her without it on only ten feet away from him wet and wanting him and the feeling was entirely mutual. He closed his eyes and bent over with his hands on his knees to shake it off.

He looked up and he saw that her blue lace panties were right by the bathroom door. At this point, he was sweating trying to decide if he should just leave them there, but the OCD in him wouldn't let him. He walked over and picked up her panties. They were soaked through and he could smell her sweet scent all over them. He moaned and leaned his hand against the wall. The door to the bathroom was slightly open and he could hear the water running. He was battling with himself. The logical and responsible side told him to close the door, put her clothes in the washer and go to the guest room to take his own shower. The little monster side of him that was at full attention told him to go in there, join her in the shower so they could both get what they need and want. He didn't go in. He was obeying the good side when he heard her moan. He couldn't move. Then he heard her moan his name and he damn near broke the handle off the door.

He backed away and ran out of the room to get away from her smell and her sounds, but he was still carrying her panties that he really wanted to hold to his nose and sniff like a pervert. He went back downstairs to the laundry room and put her clothes in the machine and stood there listening to it go. He was finally able to get his body under control. His t-shirt was completely soaked with sweat. He ripped it off over his head and put it in the machine, too. He decided to use the shower on the first floor. After his cold shower he threw back on his sweatshirt that he left on the kitchen stool and decided to go into his office and do some work.

He sent an email to Peter about home-schooling Amanda. Alistair received an email from him explaining that he was now calling Isabella 'it.'

He reviewed some of the notes he had taken about the sixteen victims. Recent pictures from their families of the young women were side by side in chronological order on a cork board in his office. He had put a picture of Isabella that he had taken with his phone that first day below their pictures. He set it below the victims' pictures because putting her in the victim line made his heart rate speed up and made him feel like he was having a heart attack.

He walked towards the board to try to see if he could see anything that would make Isabella a fixation for the Night Stalker. There was nothing extraordinarily different between them that he could tell. He looked at the first woman again, Cheryl Lynn Michelson. She was a twenty-two year old U of C student with big brown eyes, dark hair, full lips and porcelain skin, like Isabella's. Her eyes weren't slanted like his Isabella's and her smile wasn't as attractive. Cheryl didn't have a heart-shaped face like Isabella's. In fact, none of them did. But, he knew that couldn't have been why Isabella was special.

Edward and Alistair knew that Cheryl couldn't have really been his first victim, either. If she were, there would have been mistakes or indicators that he was nervous when he killed her. No. This man wasn't nervous. He had done this before. But, they couldn't find any killings with the same or similar motus operandi anywhere else in the country. He was at a standstill.

He finally forced himself away from the cork board and ordered a new and bigger TV for his dad online to be delivered by the end of the business day. Once his eyes became too tired to keep open it was 2 in the a.m.

He quietly went upstairs to his room to see if Isabella was still awake. When he opened the door, he saw her little bitty body in his California King sized bed. He smiled because the comforter was devouring her. He slipped off his sweatshirt and quickly pulled on some sleeping pants. He climbed into bed under the covers and slid as close to Isabella as he could without waking her. But, as soon as he got close, she cuddled next to his body. He smiled and pulled her closer and wrapped his hand around her waist. He kissed her neck and said,

"Good night, beautiful girl." She sighed and he drifted to sleep with no problems.

****DBW****

He was having the best dream of his life. Warm hands were rubbing over his chest and full soft lips were kissing on him and something was nibbling on him. He smiled and he heard a giggle. That was his Isabella's giggle. He started to wake up out of his dream and opened his eyes to come face to face with his dream girl. He said with a sleep riddled voice and a huge dopey grin,

"Good morning, brown eyes"

She smiled big and straddled his waist.

"It was nice waking up next to a shirtless Edward." She raised her eyebrows at him. He laughed at her and stroked her cheek.

"Are you still mad at me?" He asked worried. She looked down apologetically.

"I wasn't mad at you." Her cheeks turned red. "I was just sexually frustrated." She climbed off his lap and laid down facing him.

He laughed and turned on his side facing her with his head leaning on his hand, "You didn't have to be."

"What do you mean?" She asked with a confused look on her face.

He positioned himself between her legs and hovered over her.

"If you just needed a release, I could've done that for you." He kissed and licked that spot right behind her ear that he loved; morning breath and all. He reached up and pulled the elastic band out of her hair.

Her eyes got big, "What do you mean?"

He looked at her curiously, "I could've used my hands." He caressed her hips and lowered himself onto her gently. "I could've used my lips." He kissed her lips softly. "I could've used my tongue." He slowly licked her top lip and sucked on it.

Her eyes were hooded like they were the night before.

"Well, I—I didn't think about that. Nobody's ever...I didn't know that you would want to…"

"Of course I would want to. None of the guys you've dated ever did those things with you?"

She shook her head no and he looked at her with his mouth hanging open in disbelief. He looked her up and down and his head started swimming from what he wanted to do to her. He reached in his night stand and put a couple of Listerine strips in his mouth because he was not moving from that spot. She asked for one and he place one on her tongue.

"What time is it baby?"

She looked at the clock that was on the wall behind him. "It's 6:30." She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth.

"Do we have to be anywhere before 9?" She shook her head no again.

"Good. That should be enough time."

She was just wearing one of his t-shirts again. He grew harder because he knew she was naked underneath.

"Lift up your arms, baby." She did as she was told and he gently removed his shirt from her body. He took the time to really look at this Isabella. He pulled himself from between her legs and sat on his knees. She had the smoothest skin he had ever seen. It wasn't flawless, by any means. But, he didn't expect that. He looked at her concave belly and her belly button. His eyes roamed over the indent of her waist. Her hips were full and round like a woman's should be. He licked his lips and his hands traveled down to her thighs. He muttered to himself,

"Beautiful." Her body visibly relaxed under his touch then. He smiled up at her.

"You didn't know you were beautiful?" She half shrugged her shoulders and shook her head no at him. His eyebrows joined together in middle from his scowl.

"Isabella, men have written songs, poetry and gone to wars over beauty like yours." She giggled a little and looked at him skeptically. He was completely serious. She reached up and touched his eyebrows where they had joined together.

"You're so sweet to me, Edward. You don't have to say flowery things to me or anything."

He didn't know what to say. He was angry that she didn't believe him, but his lust was overriding his anger. They could talk about why she had such a low opinion of herself later. He needed to taste her more than he needed air or food at the moment.

"Speaking of flowery things, spread your thighs for me, baby." She did so slowly, but they had plenty of time. He could wait.

"A little more, sweetheart. Open up for me." She was smiling by the time she had her legs spread on either side of his. She was glistening for him. Her lips were pink and glistening. Her arousal was coating her thighs. She had a neat little triangle of brown curls there waiting for him to run his fingers through. He didn't like it when women were completely bare. He liked the texture of a woman's hair down there against his body, his hands, and his tongue. She was like a love smorgasbord. He didn't know which lips to suck on first. He decided to start at the top and work his way down.

He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and used his tongue to trap her lip there. She moaned and wiggled underneath him. He slowly worked his way up to her top lip and did the same thing. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and caressed it with his. He wanted to show her what he was going to do to her other lips and her pussy. Once he got his fill of her mouth, he stopped at her breasts. They weren't too big or too small. They fit perfectly in his hands. He flattened out his tongue and licked the nipple of one breast and he softly caressed the other. He moaned deeply because her skin really did taste like strawberries and vanilla cream. She was panting and moaning and pushed her little hands into his hair. His hips wound against the bed looked for friction. But, this was all about her, so he stopped himself. He wanted to focus on her and show her how much he loved her with his mouth.

He licked a trail from one breast to the other and went to work on the other delicious mound. He hollowed out his cheek sucking as much of her breast into his mouth as he could get. Her back arched off of the bed and she pulled his hair. He looked up concerned.

"Did I hurt you sweetheart?" He searched out her eyes. They were a little crossed and he smiled. She shook her head no and used her hands to push his head back towards her body. He happily continued his slow inventory of her body.

His tongue trailed down the middle of her stomach to her belly button. He was glad it was an innie. He had one more place to kiss, suck and stick his tongue into. What he was doing must've been ticklish because she giggled and kicked her legs. He smiled at her and did it again.

He licked and kissed the crease that separated her thigh from her pussy. He went from one side to the other teasing her mercilessly. She kept pushing his head to where she wanted him. He laughed and decided to play with her a little.

"Isabella, I'm the one in control of this. If you push my head again, I'm going to have to restrain your little hands." He was really only kidding, but the lustful look that passed over her eyes almost made him come in his pants like he was a seventeen-year old teenager. He made a mental note,

_If she is a little kinky, I can die and go to heaven right now. _

"If you don't stop teasing me, I'm going to have to finish on my own." He moaned at the thought of her in the shower the night before.

He locked his fingers with hers.

"How can these little things give you any satisfaction? Be good and you'll never have to use them again." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. She smiled at him and wrapped her legs around his waist. He tsked at her and unwound them spreading her open again.

"I'm not even close to done, yet." She huffed at him. He kissed her little pout and then he went back to work.

He lifted her right leg and put it over his shoulder. He slowly caressed her leg from her ankle to the lips of her vagina. Her hips bucked off the bed. He sucked on her instep and her back arched off the bed. He kissed and nibbled on the inside of her leg up her thigh where he came into contact with her sweet juices. His eyes rolled up into his head. He was trying to tease her, but he was torturing himself. He took a minute to compose himself and he continued licking until he got to her sex where he softly blew on her. Her hips lifted off the bed and she wrapped her other leg around his neck and damn near strangled him.

He laughed and softly rubbed her thighs.

"I gotta be able to breathe to do this, baby" She released him from the choke hold she put on him and he decided that he had played enough.

He buried his face in her sex just to smell her. He loved the way she smelled. It was hot and musky and vanilla and sugar. He rubbed his hand over her hair down there and she screamed out.

"Edward Anthony Cullen, if you don't do something down there, I am going to pummel you into the ground with my thighs." He chuckled, but he obeyed.

He sucked the larger lip of her sex into his mouth just like he did with her bottom lip. He used his nose to rub against her clitoris. She moaned so loud it sounded like she was in pain. But, he didn't stop. He sucked and licked on the larger lip and then he moved to the smaller one alternating between his nose and his fingers with rubbing on her clit. He stopped to breathe and licked his lips. He moaned from the taste of her. He gently gathered her wetness on his finger and moved it over her clit again. He alternated pressure and watched her reactions. He wanted to know what she liked and how she liked to be touched. She seemed to like it best when he was just barely touching her.

"Edward, I'm going to…I need to…"

He smiled, "Go ahead and let go baby." Her upper torso lifted off the bed and let out and she started shaking. She fell back and her back arched again and she screamed out his name so loud he almost came with her.

He reached up and moved her sweaty hair out of her face. That was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Edward that was…that was…fucking amazing." He looked at her saying to himself,

_Poor girl. I'm just getting started._

"Do you need some water baby?" She shook her head no smiling.

"Let me know when you do." She looked at him a little puzzled.

He went back down between her legs and he used his comforter to clean her up a bit. He spread open her lips and sucked her still swollen clitoris in his mouth. She grabbed his hair and pulled.

"Shit! That feels so fucking good."

He stayed there sucking and nibbling on the little nub. Then, he slowly trailed his tongue down to her slit from the top to the bottom and then back again. He smiled to himself because he loved pussy more than strawberries and this was all his.

He entered her with one finger and she moaned. He let her adjust to that as he was pushing in and out slowly. Her hips were rocking back and forth and grinding against his finger, and then he added another. She yelled out.

"Jesus fucking Christ!"

He smacked her ass lightly, "Look at you taking the lord's name in vain." She looked at him half dazed from orgasm.

"If you weren't so fucking good at what you were doing, I'd be really mad at you." He laughed at her.

He finally added a third finger and she started shaking her head from side to side.

"Do you want me to stop, baby?"

"If you fucking stop, I will strangle you in your sleep." He loved this side of her. He wanted to see it for the rest of his life.

He twisted his wrist and searched out her g-spot. When he contacted that hard ridge behind her pelvic bone she yelled out a slew of profanities so loud he got a little scared. Her pussy walls tightened up on his fingers and she came hard.

She was completely drenched in sweat. He whispered in her ear that he'd be right back. He got up and went to his bathroom and ran some water into a cup he kept there, grabbed a towel and came back in the room. Bella was laid out on the bed and she was almost red from her orgasms. He knew he needed release soon, but this was not the time. He'd take care of himself later. This was all about his baby.

"Here sweetie."

She responded lazily, "Hmmmm?"

"Drink a little water. You must be thirsty."

She sat up and took the glass from his hand and drank the whole damn thing. She looked at him adoringly and he positioned himself back over her body.

She looked at him with wide eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Round 3"

He waggled his eyebrows and kissed her deeply. He knew she could taste herself on him. He was hoping that didn't disgust her. She moaned and pulled him closer to her. He was relieved she wasn't grossed out.

He went back down to his love triangle and used the towel he brought out to clean her up a little. He delved into her opening with his tongue. She cried out.

He moved his tongue in and out of her like his fingers had moved earlier. She wrapped her legs around his shoulders and started to grind into his face. He was in fucking heaven. He pushed his hands under her ass and guided her rhythm against him. She tasted like vanilla pudding and he wanted to eat every last drop. He was grunting like an animal and he could barely breathe, but he couldn't have cared less if somebody had to call 911 and do CPR on his ass. She was muttering the filthiest shit he had ever heard come out of a woman's mouth let alone his sweet little Isabella's. She was riding his face and her hands were pulling his hair so hard he thought it might come out. But, he didn't give a damn.

Once he decided that he really did need to breathe, he flicked his tongue up to see if he could reach her spot with it. He did and she screamed his name, shivered and pounded so hard against his face his body started to shiver with hers. He was holding on to the top of her thighs for dear life and his hips were winding against the bed. He couldn't help it. This was the sexiest shit he had ever experienced. He came hard in his sleep pants at the same time his Isabella came. As he was moaning and shaking from his release against her pussy, she came again.

He didn't know how long they laid there with her legs laying over his shoulders and his cheek resting on her stomach. He was running his fingers through her hair down there and half asleep.

He was finally able to move his head and Isabella was knocked out snoring. He chuckled to himself and looked at the clock. It was 8:20. He carefully untangled himself and gently laid her back towards the headboard and under the covers. He kissed her forehead and went to take a shower and cook some breakfast for his baby. After all, he had already fed one of her appetites. He was happy to feed another.

****DBW***

He went about his morning rituals and quietly got dressed for the day because they had to go out to Naperville and get Amanda. He went to get Bella's underwear out of the dryer and quietly put them in his room on the chair. She was sleeping so hard and peacefully. He didn't want to wake her, but the morning was leaving them and he wanted to try to get some things done that day.

He kissed her gently on her cheek. She rolled over on her stomach with a sleepy smile on her face.

"Sweetheart, we have to leave in a little while to get Amanda and I need to make a couple of stops." He smacked her bottom lightly and bent down and bit it through the comforter. She jumped and giggled sleepily. She rolled over and looked at him with sleepy eyes.

"Five more minutes."

He chuckled, "Baby, you can sleep on the way out to Naperville. Get your sexy ass out of bed." He ripped the comforter off of her.

"Okay, okay. I'll be ready in fifteen minutes."

He chuckled as he walked out of the room. He scrambled up some cheese eggs and made some sausage with toast. He squeezed some orange juice for her and set some chopped pieces of fruit on the kitchen island.

She walked a little wobbly into the kitchen wearing her hoodie and sweatpants from the day before. He looked up and smiled at her. She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes and she had her head down.

He quickly walked up to her and lifted her chin.

"What's wrong, Isabella? I didn't…hurt you or anything did I?"

"No. Of course not. It's just that…I said some pretty raunchy things while we were…you know."

He laughed and sat down on the kitchen stool and pulled her into his favorite place for her…his lap.

"Are you embarrassed?" She rolled her eyes and nodded slightly.

He lifted her head up and looked into her eyes.

"You don't have anything to be embarrassed about. That was between you and me and it was the most beautiful and erotic thing I've ever seen, heard, or felt in my life. If you're worried about running me away, you can forget it. I may be addicted to this." He ran his fingers lightly over her fully-clothed sex.

She moaned and closed her eyes a little, but she was still looking him in the eyes like she was searching to see if he was telling the truth. He smiled and softly ran his fingers down her cheek. He kissed her nose, eye lids, cheeks and mouth like she did to him the night before.

She smiled big and sniffed the air.

"This food smells good."

He chuckled, "Eat. I know you're hungry. You must've worked up an appetite." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and her cheeks turned bright red. He laughed and sucked on her cheek.

"So fucking adorable."

As soon as they finished eating, talking and laughing, his cell rang. He jumped up to answer it. It was Jasper.

"Hey man! What's up?"

"_Well, well. You sound like you're in a better mood."_

He smiled to himself because he sure as hell was.

"Yeah, I might not take your head off today."

Jasper chuckled.

"_When are you two getting out here?"_

"We'll be out there at about 10 or 10:15. Is everything alright?"

"_Yep. Alice just asked me to call and find out."_

"Okay." He asked as quietly as he could, "How's Amanda? Is she asking for Isabella?"

"_Nope. She knows she's with you. She's not worried. You're an angel remember?"_

He laughed.

"That's right. Well, I'll see you all in a little while. Please tell my dad I ordered a new TV for him and it should arrive today."

"_Will do, Jackie Chan." He ended the call and Edward laughed._

Isabella wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Is Amanda okay?"

"Yep. She doesn't even miss us."

Isabella pouted a little and he kissed her top lip and smiled.

"Let's hit the road baby."

He left his loft with his Isabella safely in his arms feeling like they knew each other a little better in many ways. They got into his Volvo and made their way back to Naperville.

****DBW****

_**A/N: A lot of folks didn't like Bella's choices. I understand that. But, she's never leaving Edward and trust me, Amanda's safe. ;-)**_

_**Macrina is a pastry shop I found doing research for the story on the internet. The owners really do feel that bread is life. I don't think that's corny at all. I love passionate people.**_

_**Leave me love or, let me know what you didn't like. I hope I didn't run anybody away with this chapter. :- /**_

_**Also for those that are wondering what Simply Beautiful sounds like if someone were singing to them, here's a clip from YouTube:**_

_**.com/watch?v=2vTjhqBm9-M**_


	12. Chapter 12

**_This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this._**

**_All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended._**

Chapter 12 – Bella's New Look

When Bella woke up from the ride to Naperville, she felt completely relaxed. She looked over at Edward who had kissed her cheek and nose repeatedly to wake her. She was the happiest she had been in a long time. It was finally Friday. It felt like it had been one year, instead of one week since she was hired at _Shirley's._

Visions of her Edward hovering over her body to bring her more pleasure than she had experienced in her entire limited sex life, let alone one night, came flooding back into her body and brain. She had so many intense feelings for him it scared her to death. But, whenever she turned to look into his eyes for reassurance they sparkled with so much lush love she would calm down immediately.

His eyes were something really special to her. They were a true barometer of his emotional state. When he was angry they would go all brown. Sometimes they would get so dark, they would look black. When he was hungry or excited they were bright green with gold specks around the irises. She loved his hungry eyes. When he was just happy or content they would go a soft green like grass on a lovely spring or summer day.

He held her hand as they walked back into the Cullen home. When they entered the foyer, Bella immediately heard little feet running towards her. She smiled because she missed the other love of her life while she was away.

"Bella Boo!" Amanda came and hugged her around her waist and smiled up at her with those twinkling blue eyes that were shaped so much like hers.

"Hey, Manda Bear! Did you have a good time at Emmett's and Rose's house?"

"Yeah! Emie is the best! We played dolls and we skipped rope. We made cookies with Aunt Rose. Emie's favorite is peanut butter chocolate chip. We made hers and mine. Then, we played dress up with Aunt Alice. It was so fun! Emie is my new best friend. Now I have one at school and one in Evan's son."

"I'm so glad you had fun, snuggle bug. But, did you say Evan's son?"

"Yep, that's where Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett live, Evan's son."

Edward and Bella laughed a little. Edward asked softly with a smile on his face,

"Do you mean Evanston?"

She looked down like she was really considering his question. Then she looked up with a befuddled look on her face, "That's what I said."

He chuckled at her and said, "I'm sorry. I must've heard you wrong."

She shrugged her little shoulders,

"That's okay. Grown-ups make mistakes, too."

Edward laughed,

"What am I invisible? You only give your sister a hug? I'm heartbroken." He feigned heart ache with his hands over his heart.

She smiled big and wrapped her little arms around his legs.

"Hi, Edward. Don't be heartbroken." She reached her arms up asking to be picked up.

He did as he was commanded and bent to pick up Amanda.

"Edward, Emie said you two play 'Horsey with the Long Mane.' Can we play that game, too? It sounds like fun."

Bella looked up into Edward's face and she could see a slight wince cross his face. She laughed internally because he apparently knew quite well what he was getting himself into.

"I don't know. I think I need two cheek kisses for that kind of request."

Her eyes lit up excitedly and she gave him two smacks on his cheek.

"Okay. By the end of the day today, your wish will be granted."

She bounced excitedly.

"Okay. But, Emie told me you'd try to trick me and say you were an old tired horsey and you couldn't play. So, you can't fool me, mister."

He burst out laughing. Bella was shaking her head at her little sister. He gently placed her back on her feet.

"She did? Well, I guess you're gonna have to let me rest up so I'll have enough energy."

She looked at him skeptically and did something that Bella hadn't seen her do before.

"Okay, but I've got my eyes on you." She did the two finger sign for that.

He and Bella looked at each other as she skipped away.

They said in unison, "Rose."

When, they finally got into the great room they noticed that the television had been removed completely. Nobody was in there, so they sat on the couch. Edward reached over and pulled her onto his lap. He pulled his iPod out of his back pocket and stuck one bud in his ear and one in hers. She laid her head on his shoulder and the first notes of the song that was now her favorite came on, _Simply Beautiful_.

She looked up into his smiling eyes that were grass green and they both relaxed and let the music wash over them. He was using his fingers to play the song on the outside of her thigh like it was his own personal keyboard. He was humming and she was playing with the cuff on his wrist.

"Edward."

He answered lazily, "Hmmmm?"

"What is this symbol on your bracelet here? I saw it in your bathroom and in your kitchen. What does it mean?"

He looked at it casually and said,

"It's the Cullen family crest. My pop gave me this on the day I was officially adopted."

She looked at the symbol respectfully. Carlisle had made him a part of his family lineage, even though he was no blood relation. They were very special men.

"Emmett and Alice have one, too. But, Emmett had the symbol tattooed onto the back of his shoulder. Alice wears it around a chain. She hasn't taken that thing off since she was five."

Bella was really enamored with this entire family. They had pieced together such a strong unit of kinship that most people don't have who have each other's blood running through their veins. She was hoping that one day they would find a place for Amanda and her.

"What are you thinking about so hard over there, pretty lady?"

She smiled softly, "How we didn't finish our game last night"

He looked confused for a minute, but then a look of realization came over his face.

"Oh yeah! That's right." He laughed that genuine and deep laugh that she adored. "Sooo, what _is _your favorite color?"

She answered immediately, "Green." She looked into his eyes meaningfully. He smiled and his cheeks took on a slight blush.

"What's yours?"

He slid his hand up the back of her hoodie under the back of her bra and said softly,

"Blue." She slowly smiled at him as she realized the color she was wearing under her clothes. Then they were interrupted by a loud booming voice coming into the room. Edward rolled his eyes and laughed.

"The lovebirds are back!" Emmett came and sat down on the couch next to them with a huge grin on his face.

Edward looked at him and smiled. He held out his fist for a bump and Emmett obliged.

"So, Izzy Bell, did you have a good time at Edward's?" He waggled his eyebrows at her and she turned completely red.

Edward said in a scolding tone, "Emmett, don't try to embarrass my baby, or I'll have to tell her how long it took before dad could remove the rubber sheets from your bed."

Emmett's eyes got big and Bella put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Izzy Bell, don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth. If his lips are moving he's lying. Keep that in mind."

Bella chuckled at the brothers.

Bella interrupted, "Thanks for taking Amanda to meet Emily. It sounds like they had a good time. Now, I'm the only one that hasn't met her."

Emmett smiled, "Don't worry, little sis. You'll have plenty of opportunities because our Monster is in luuuuuvvvv with you." He started making kissing sounds like he was ten.

Edward tried to reach Emmett's neck but he moved away too quickly.

"I told you you're getting slow in your old age, Monster. You two come on down to the basement. That's where everybody is."

Bella was trying not to laugh at Edward's scowl.

"He's been a pest his entire life." She laughed outright then and he looked at her and immediately started smiling.

"Oh, you think that's funny. Remember, he's still testing out nick names on you, _Izzy Bell."_

Bella's eyes grew big and Edward started laughing and kissed her neck softly.

"Let's go downstairs, milady." He stood and reached out for her hand. She took it eagerly and they walked into the basement together.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs they heard everyone milling around and the TV was on.

When they walked in they saw Alice perched on Jasper's lap watching _The View_. Rose was sitting at a little table with Amanda having a tea party. Emmett was playing pool and patting himself on the shoulder because of his skills.

Carlisle was sitting at the wet bar drinking coffee and Esme was in the sitting area working on her lap top.

They all looked up and waved and spoke their hellos to Bella and Edward. Edward kissed Bella's cheek and pointed to his father. She nodded and reluctantly let go of his hand that immediately felt unnaturally cold without him holding it.

Bella decided to go and sit next to Jasper and Alice because Esme looked like she was working.

They both smiled at her when she sat down. She bumped Jasper's shoulder and said,

"Don't you work?"

He smiled big.

"Ms. Bella, you, all by your little self, are a sixty hour a week job." Alice and Jasper were both looking at her lovingly and she rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

Alice jumped off his lap and hugged Bella around the shoulders.

"You smell like cookies. You must've been using Edward's stuff. Didn't I bring you your strawberry stuff that Angela told me you like?"

She smiled at the little sprite.

"Yes, you did, little one. I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for us. I want to pay you back."

Alice looked completely insulted, "If you offer me one dime for that little bit of stuff I bought I will kick your butt."

Bella laughed and nodded. But, she hated when people paid for stuff for her. It was hard enough taking Phil's money when she first started taking care of Amanda. She wanted to at least pay for the TV Edward bought to replace the one he punched through. It was really her fault he was so mad.

She felt piercing eyes on her and turned to look at Alice again.

"What's wrong, hon?" She looked at Alice worried.

"Isn't this the same thing you wore yesterday?"

Jasper was snickering trying to stay out of the conversation.

Bella squirmed a little.

"Yeah, I didn't bring a change of clothes with me before I left."

She started bouncing up and down on the couch and clapping excitedly.

"Will you let me put together an ensemble for you and do your hair?" She smiled so big that Bella's heart melted a little.

"Wellll, okay. But, I'm not going anywhere but back to Edward's at the end of the night."

Alice smiled slyly, "That's okay. I'm sure he'll appreciate what I do. Come follow me, lady." She wiggled her eyebrows at her. What was with this family and wiggling eyebrows? She was starting to do it a lot, too.

She looked at Jasper as she was pulled off the couch by an always surprisingly strong elf and mouthed,

_Help me._

He shrugged smiling and said, "Go with God." Bella scowled at him and he laughed harder.

****DBW****

Alice pulled Bella into her wing of the house. It was off the foyer and almost felt like it was separate part of the house. She had only peaked in once to check on Amanda, but it was night and she didn't get a good look at it.

Due to her frenetic personality, she assumed any living area of Alice's to be brightly colored haphazard and eclectic. However, her living space was just as much, or maybe even more organized than Shirley's. Her bedroom was so neat and tidy it made Bella feel like a giant dust bug. She had to remind herself that she and Esme designed and decorated Shirley's space. Alice gave her a tour.

Her color palette consisted of various yellows, oranges, browns, and splashes of red. Her sleeping area with the king-size sleigh bed was what you saw when you first walked into her door. However, there was a half-wall that separated the sleeping area from a sitting area with a small love seat a chaise lounge and a small round ottoman that served as a coffee table. She had a walk-in closet that she immediately led Bella into that was organized just as well as any clothing store display, with overhead cabinets with sheer doors so you can see what's stored there. No wonder Amanda loved to be in here.

The cabinetry was a light wood similar to bamboo. Colors graduated from light to dark. Jeans, dresses, sweaters, and shirts had their own separate spaces. The sheer amount of shoes she had there was flabbergasting and she had a feeling that wasn't all of them since she didn't even really live there. Bella had exactly six pairs of shoes and they were mostly Chuck's and flats.

Alice had an island in the center of the closet, similar to a kitchen island with drawers and compartments for storage and she had a mannequin in one of the corners, apparently used for alterations. She also had two full length stand alone mirrors. Bella was astounded that anybody cared this much about clothes. Before you reached the bath area there was a dressing area with a large mirror that took up the length of the wall a counter and three cushioned stools that fit underneath the counter. There were enough plugs available to have a full working salon.

They walked through the closet to the bathroom, which could rival any spa. It even had a massage table and a steam shower with a sauna feature. Alice explained that she had some renovations done on the wing, so that she could work here and at her apartment. She explained to her that her area actually had a separate entrance that had the same kind of security precautions and gate as the front of the house. Their house was actually on six lots and it technically had two addresses. You could enter their estate from the cul-de-sac and from a street a couple of blocks west of them.

She had an office on the other side of the bathroom with three desks with computers for when she needed to hire a temp to help her out occasionally. Bella was extremely impressed. She thought to herself that that when she becomes a real grown-up girl, she was going to hire Alice to design a space for her.

Alice pulled her back over to the closet.

"Now, let's see." She looked Bella up and down and walked around her, which made her very self-conscious. Then a slow slightly sinister smile crept up on Alice's little face.

"What size do you really wear, Bella? I've been buying you 8/9s because that's what Angela told me to buy. But, you're wearing clothes that are too big for you."

"Well, the last time I got a physical the doctor told me I need to lose some weight according to the BMI chart. I'm 5' 2" and one hundred twenty-three pounds. I'm supposed to be between one hundred ten and one hundred twelve. I'm healthy other-wise, though. I guess I'm a little self conscious about being overweight." She looked at how tiny Alice is. She's probably only two inches shorter than her and maybe twenty-five pounds lighter. Since she had reached puberty, she had always had bigger hips and was more bootylicious than most girls her height. Her mom used to try to make her feel better and say that she wished she had Bella's figure and called her voluptuous. But, she knew she was just chubby and she liked to eat too much. When she looked back up at Alice, she looked like she was angry.

"Fuck what that doctor said! You look healthy, Bella. Those charts are just guides. Everybody in the world is not supposed to be the same size. You said yourself that the doctor said you're healthy. What are you like twelve pounds heavier than that chart says you're supposed to be?" Bella nodded, but she didn't agree that she should ignore the doctor.

"Look, you just need to dress for your curves. People think that when they wear baggy clothes it makes them look smaller. It actually makes people look bigger and frumpier. I think you can actually wear a six or maybe even a five." She went into her closet and pulled out a couple of pairs of jeans and a couple of mini sundresses.

"These are leftovers from a client I was assisting in New York. These jeans are called _Apple Bottoms_ and they're cut to wear with boots. The denim is mixed with spandex. So, it allows for curves, but supports and smooths where it's needed. You have a Jennifer Lopez-esque body there, girl. You should show it off. I know my brother seems to like it." She winked at her and shoved the jeans towards her first and pulled out a top that looked like a handkerchief, but it was actually a halter-top with a triangular bottom.

"Put these on so I can see if I have to hem the pant legs. They're designed for petite women, but you never know." Alice sat there in a chair expectantly.

Bella stammered a little, "W-Where should I change."

Alice looked at her like she was loopy, "Right here, you nut. We're all girls here."

Bella nervously took off her sweat pants and her hoodie. Alice smiled and nodded.

"Well, at least I bought the right size underwear. I had a feeling you were smaller than how you were dressing."

Bella slid on the jeans and she was a little shocked. The pant leg length was perfect. She always had to cut off the bottom of her jeans and make a new hem line, or roll them up. She eased the jeans easily over her hips. When she buttoned them and zipped them up, she didn't feel uncomfortable at all. They gave a little in the hips, but she felt that her bottom was supported and lifted. She could breathe and everything.

"Wow! I wish I had an ass like that." Alice pouted. "I'm a buck-oh-five soaking wet with clothes on and I still have cellulite. You don't have any. Not even a dimple…bitch."

Bella laughed and at her little friend and shook her head and blushed at the compliment.

"I might just kill myself if I have to look at your body much longer, but go ahead and try on the top."

Bella, looked at the top, but she couldn't figure out which hole went where.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Here, let me help you." She helped her pull the top over her head and helped her tied the halter at the neck.

"That looks beautiful on you! The blue really brings out your skin tone and your eyes."

The colors on the shirt almost looked like peacock feathers. It had splashes of brown in eyelet shapes right under the bosom and the bottom was triangular, which accented the curve of her hips and the smallness of her waist. Bella almost passed out when she told her to take the bra off because of the style. Bella had gone without panties before. But, she had never gone out the house or even sat around the house without boob-holders, as she was in the habit of calling them. Alice searched around her island for what she called a semi-demi cup strapless whoseit whatsit, at least, that's what it sounded like to Bella. Alice huffed because she couldn't find one. So, she pulled out these things she called nipple covering or pasties. Bella looked at Alice like she had finally lost her mind.

"Who am I supposed to be? Janet Jackson or Madonna? I need a bra." Alice rolled her eyes

"Oh, calm down, chica. There's support built into the bra. You're all good. These pasties will make it look like you're wearing a full bra.

Alice looked at her hair and ran her fingers through it.

"Have you ever straightened or flat-ironed your hair?"

Bella nodded. "I had it straightened for a wedding I went to once."

A loud voice entered the room.

"Hey bitches! Well, well! Va-va-va- voom, you sexy beast." Rosalie looked Bella up and down and gave her the thumbs up.

Bella blushed at the compliment coming from the Amazon-like beauty that just walked into the room.

Alice piped up, "That's what I said."

"Edward is going to have an aneurysm. He's an ass-man. It's a good thing Emmett is a boob man. I might have the upper-hand in that department." Rose winked at Bella and sat down in the chair Alice had just vacated.

"Rose, I'm gonna straighten her hair. Can you do her make-up first? Do the smoky-eye for me. I suck at that. I think I have some lip-gloss you can take home with you, Bella. I just have to look for it."

Rosalie jumped up, "Roger that, little one. Come on Bella. Step into my office."

Bella's head was spinning a little.

"You guys. I'm just going back to Edward's place and lounging around. I don't need all of this."

They both looked at her like she was crazy.

"No offense, Bella, but I don't think I've seen anyone recently that needed a little make-over more than you. You've been wearing hair nets and nurse's shoes too much. I can relate. I used to live in scrubs. But, when I go to games and I see those heifers trying to push up on my man, I get my shit together. I mean, I know Emmett is faithful, but I try to give him something pretty to look at and look forward to when he comes home on occasion. You know what I mean." She smiled at Bella and, against all of her feminist intuition, she agreed.

They sat in comfortable silence as Rose worked on Bella's make-up.

"So, your mom keeps Emily when you go to work?"

Rose nodded, "She's been clean a couple of years now, so yeah, I let her keep her."

Bella looked at her and Rose just kept on working.

"She's been in and out of rehab since my dad was put in federal prison."

Bella's mouth was hanging open and Rose finally looked at her.

"Edward didn't tell you?"

She shook her head no.

"You probably heard about it, but my dad was a part of a big prostitution ring that was being run out of Marina Towers, downtown, by a bunch of doctors."

Bella was gawking with wide eyes. Rose knew she wasn't going to get her to sit in the proper position so she pulled out a stool and put the make-up brush down, so she could explain.

"My dad was a dentist. He had an office downtown and we lived in Marina Towers. He wasn't really around much. I didn't have a really good relationship with him. My mom was a socialite. She came from 'Hale' money."

Bella's eyes widened because Hale Tobacco had been around since the turn of the twentieth century. Even after the anti-trust suit in the middle of the century, the family was worth billions.

"She married my dad basically because it pissed her parents off. Obviously, he was pretty shady. He even used to leer at me kind of weirdly and walk into my room without knocking. I think he was trying to catch me changing."

Bella shuddered. Her dad was gone a lot, too, but he was a good man. He wouldn't have ever hurt her in that way.

"Well, the Feds finally busted up the prostitution ring. They were involved in white slavery, drug trafficking…all kinds of shit. They were importing women from other countries and selling them to these other rich dicks."

"My mom caught hell from every angle. It was all over the news. She couldn't move two feet in the city without cameras following her around. I had just graduated eighth grade then. DCFS even threatened to take me away. The family lawyer intervened and my mom and I moved to Naperville."

"My mom always did a little cocaine and had her martinis. But, when that shit went down, she started doing everything she could get her hands on. She had unlimited resources and a faithful dealer. She was high in one way or the other every fucking day."

Bella really looked at this woman she had been so intimidated by. She was truly a beautiful woman. But, she had been through so much shit. She must've been really lonely growing up just like Bella.

Rose looked down a little bashfully. "When I first got into high school a lot of the girls didn't like me. They thought I thought I was better than them or something, which couldn't have been further from the truth. But, Alice walked right up to me on the second day and started talking a mile a minute saying how we were going to be lifelong friends. You know how she is." Bella nodded and smiled.

"I met Emmett and we were in most of the same classes. He was adorable, but he was scrawny, short and a little awkward. He played football, but he didn't grow into the big strapping stud he is now until the end of his junior year. He had one hell of a growth spurt." Rose smiled big.

Bella smiled at Rose because she obviously adored Emmett.

She started playing the hem of her shirt, "But, I had a crush on someone else at first. Emmett was always my friend, but I had a crush on…Edward." She looked up wincing a little.

Bella gasped a little and waited anxiously for her to finish.

Rose looked at Bella and breathed out what seemed like a sigh of relief.

"Edward was really gorgeous and popular. I mean, I don't have to tell _you _that. He was a junior and he seemed like he could…I don't know…take care of me. I mean, here I was going to the supermarket stocking up on Ravioli and frozen dinners, so that when my mom decided to eat something there would be something there. That's what I lived on. We didn't have a maid or anything. My mom was paranoid about people knowing her 'private affairs." Rose did the air quote thing.

Bella nodded. She could completely understand feeling at times like she was the parent instead of her mother; especially after her father's death.

"Anyway, of course, Edward didn't give me the time of day even when I hung out with Emmett and Alice. He was so preoccupied with music and sports. I think he had a girlfriend at the time, but I can't really remember.

My crush lasted for that whole first year. I even joined the cheer-leading squad for the chance to see him more often. He was nice to me when he saw me at the house. But, it was like I was a pet or a baby or some shit. I didn't get it. All the other guys at the school were trying to get me to go out with them, but he just looked at me like I was annoying kid."

Bella smiled a little because Edward was really clueless sometimes. He probably didn't even realize she had a crush on him…thank goodness.

"Well, I came up with a plan of action." She smiled at Bella. "There was this guy, Royce King. I knew him from our social circles in the city. His father was a real estate mogul and he came from 'old money,' too. The girls worshiped him almost as much as they did Edward.

I decided that I would try to make Edward jealous by going out with Royce."

Bella stopped her because she thought she should know that she knew what happened to her.

"Edward did tell me about that, Rose. I'm really sorry that happened to you."

Rose visibly paled.

"Well, at least that slime didn't get his dick in me." She looked down. "He used something else to rape me."

Bella gasped.

"I wasn't strong enough to fight all of them." Bella jumped off the stool and hugged her fiercely. Rose hugged her back and smiled a teary smile.

"It was a long time ago, now. I'm okay." Bella ran her hands lovingly through Rose's blond tresses.

Rose smiled and kept going.

"Edward got him off of me, but Emmett…he went wild. I thought a Tasmanian devil had come into the locker room. He was growling like a damn bear while he was kicking that one guy's ass." She laughed softly.

"Emmett had told me Royce wasn't any good. I didn't listen. I was too intent on my plan. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but when Emmett went on that rampage for me, that's when my crush on Edward stopped and I knew I loved Emmett."

Bella smiled in commiseration for this wounded woman.

"Who knows they're going to marry somebody at fifteen?" She smiled big. "I did."

"Don't get me wrong. I'll be in Edward's debt for the rest of my life. I love him to death. But, I fell in love with Emmett that day. He held me in his arms in the coach's office with Carlisle until the police got there."

Bella was holding on to Rose's hand.

"The doctor's told me there was some minimal damage, but that I should be able to have kids. So, Royce didn't take everything from me. He only technically took my virginity, but Emmett was my first and only.

The police tried to contact my mom, but they couldn't get through. When they got me to the house, they walked in with me and my mom was passed out. She had overdosed on a couple of different types of drugs. Fortunately, she was laying in her own vomit and it didn't kill her. She had thrown up a lot of the shit.

She had to go into rehab, or they would've taken me away and charged her with child neglect.

Carlisle stepped up and offered to be my guardian while she cleaned up."

Bella couldn't believe the horror of Rose's life story.

"My mom was in and out of rehab. She wouldn't even admit she had a problem. Eventually, she left me. She said that since I liked the Cullens so much, I could stay with them."

Bella shook her head with wide eyes and Rose smiled at her.

"She didn't know it, but that was the best decision she had ever made for me as a parent, although it wasn't intentional."

Bella nodded her understanding.

"A few years ago she came back to Naperville and looked me up. She told me she had been sober for three years. She said she wanted a chance to be a good grandparent because she knew she was shit as a parent. I let her visit with Emily for a year supervised…piss tests and everything. My ass may have been born last night, but I was up all night. When I trusted she was really clean, I let Emily go over there without me. She's really turned her life around. She even runs AA meetings at the church down the street from her condo and she's going to college to become a counselor."

Bella squeezed Rose's hand and smiled.

"I'm glad you've had a chance to see her sober."

Rose smiled, "Yeah, we're pretty cool now. We can just sit, drink coffee, and shoot the shit, you know? I like her. Emily loves her Grandma Lily."

They sat and smiled at each other for a minute or two. Rose wiped a few tears away.

"Okay, enough of the sappy bitch shit. Let's get your make-up done so you can drive Edward crazy. That's a short trip, but I think it'll be worth it."

Bella shook her head at the way Rose and Edward teased each other.

****DBW****

Rose left after she did Bella's make-up and kissed her on the cheek. Alice came in and started prepping for straightening her hair. She looked at Bella's make-up and smiled.

"Rose really knows her shit with make-up. I told her she should really do it professionally. But, she loves taking care of the babies."

Alice and Bella talked for a minute about some random things, but then it finally came back to Bella what she wanted to ask her.

"Alice, I've been meaning to ask you since that night. What did you say to Edward to make him come back?"

Alice looked contemplative like she was debating telling her.

"Did you know Edward's mom left the day before his sixth birthday to get him some ice cream and some cough syrup and never came home?"

Bella's mouth dropped open and she shook her head no.

"She was killed by some gang-bangers. None of us understand why, but that's what the police said happened. They lived in Evergreen Park. Edward owns the house. He goes there when he thinks he's hurt somebody he loves."

Bella was completely confused.

"Why would Edward feel like he had anything to do with that?"

"Because he's still that five-year old little boy trying to heal from losing his mother and father. He thought that if he didn't have a sore throat, his mother would've stayed home. He thinks he got the sore throat because he took off a scarf around his neck his mother told him to wear one night when it was a little chilly outside. He thought it was dorky and he didn't want to get picked on, so he didn't wear it. So, of course, in his mind, it's his fault his mother died. Mom told me he didn't talk for a year. He was practically catatonic. They had taken him to shrinks and everything. When she brought me home, she said his whole face lit up and he started to talk a little again. He still saw a therapist for a year or two, though."

Bella couldn't say anything.

"I took Amanda with me because she's important to him and I know that even if he felt like he was making you safer by leaving, he would never abandon Amanda, or make her feel like he did when he woke up and his mother wasn't there."

Bella grew slightly angry when she heard that.

"I know it was manipulative, but I was desperate."

She was still mad, but she wanted to know more.

"Why do you know so much about how Edward feels and where he goes?"

"I can't really tell you. We're just…emotionally connected. I don't even know how old I am or where I come from, but I know I can trust my brother with my life and hopefully he feels the same. It's just always been that way."

Bella looked at her with confusion.

"What do you mean you don't know how old you are?"

"I was found in a hotel room after a woman was murdered."

"What?" Bella almost fell out of off her stool, but she stopped herself before she was burned with the flat iron.

"There was a woman murdered; gunshot to the head. The police found me hiding under a pile of clothes in the corner crying."

"So what happened to your parents? Did the police contact them?" She figured that the woman wasn't her mother since she spoke of her so indifferently.

"Nobody knows who my parents are. The woman's name was Heidi Brunelli, or something like that. But, they don't know if she was my mother. I didn't have a birth certificate, an I.D., or anything. They took me to the hospital to see if I was okay. Dad was on duty at the hospital in the ER. His specialty is pediatrics and he's an OB/Gyne. Esme was visiting, apparently. She said when she saw me she just knew I should be her daughter. They found me on August 2 and they guessed that I was about two and a half by my teeth. I was tiny for a two-year old even. So, they couldn't go by that.

Nobody came forward to claim me for a year. So, the Cullens adopted me. They got a birth certificate with the date they found me on it made up and a social security number for me. They named me. I'm named after Esme's paternal grandmother and Carlisle's maternal grandmother."

Bella was floored.

"So, to make a long story short, I told Edward that he's a lucky bastard and if he makes Esme worry about her flesh and blood, he's a selfish bastard. I told him that we all love him and we're not dead. So, he should stop thinking that everybody he loves dies. It's insulting to the people that are alive and love him."

When Alice stopped talking, she asked Bella to look in the mirror. Alice was done and Bella had to admit that the hair and make-up looked really good….kind of sexy. She smiled at Alice and thanked her.

She got dressed and Alice handed her a pair of boots that she really didn't understand at all. She called them Louboutins, or something. They were a deep brown suede that were similar in color to the brown in the eyelets on her shirt, but they had an open toe. She was wondering if it's cold enough to need to wear boots, why would you wears some with an open toe? She already felt like wearing a halter top with boots was a little goofy, but she went with Alice's opinion because she was the fashion maven. The boots had laces and eyelets, but that was just for show, apparently, because they zipped up the side. She wore the pants over them. They had a modest heel, according to Alice. She said they were _only_ three inches. She had to remind her exactly who was wearing these modest heels. She's the woman who trips over uneven concrete in flats. Alice just blew her off and said the only way to become graceful in heels was to wear them. She showed her how to balance a little. She handed her some light pink lip gloss and told her it tasted and smelled like strawberries and that she could have the tube."

"Alice, can I ask you a question?"

She sat down on the chaise in her sitting room and guided Bella to sit down, too.

"Shoot! You can ask me anything."

She looked down. She knew her stupid cheeks were turning red. She normally talked about these things with Angela, but she felt like she could talk to Alice, too, since she had been so open with her.

"Have you ever…"

"Okay, if this is a sex question, keep in mind that you're talking about my brother and whatever you ask can cause me to go into deep therapy."

Bella winced because if she had a brother she wouldn't want to hear about his sex life either. She tried to think of a way to phrase this.

"Okay, let's just say there's a woman that has only had an orgasm by her own hand and never through….penetration and has never had anyone...go down on her."

Alice sat up in her seat.

"Okay. I mean that's not okay and a little sad, but go ahead."

Bella really wished that Alice wouldn't do a running commentary. She was already embarrassed enough.

"Let's say, hypothetically, that in one night, with no actual intercourse, that same woman may have had four orgasms just from…oral."

Alice's eyes widened considerably.

"Would that be normal? Is there really such a thing as being multi-orgasmic, or would that have happened simply because of the newness of the…act, hypothetically speaking."

Alice looked at her for a full minute without blinking.

"Four orgasms?"

Bella nodded waiting anxiously for Alice's opinion. "Hypothetically."

"I'll pretend that you are not this hypothetical person and you're not talking about my brother so I don't have to go home and bleach my brain." She shuddered and shook her head. "I personally believe that all women are multi-orgasmic, to an extent, because we can have so many different types of orgasms."

Bella's perked up in her seat and implored with her eyes for Alice to continue.

"Well, we can have orgasms through vaginal sex, which believe it or not is the rarest. We can have an orgasm from someone stimulating our clitoris. We can have one through g-spot stimulation, or any combination thereof. Sometimes it's good to be a girl." Alice smiled big.

Bella breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, that woman would not be some kind of repressed sex maniac and her reaction would be…normal."

Alice laughed loudly, "I don't know if four orgasms in one night is normal, but I don't think you…that woman…should worry about it at all. I wouldn't expect that every time. I wouldn't expect an orgasm every time. But, I would say to that hypothetical woman, to stop bragging and enjoy the memory." Alice giggled and slapped Bella's knee. Bella laughed a little, too.

"I have a couple of other questions." Alice nodded and folded her feet under herself.

"Do you…I mean you're…with…Jasper right?" Alice nodded vigorously and got this dreamy look in her eyes. Bella smiled at how happy she looked. She told Bella that they met at her birthday party and he bought her a porcelain doll as a gift that had her face painted on it. Alice showed it to her. It really was the doll version of Alice. She smiled hugely and said he only saw her picture once and he was able to draw it for his friend that makes personalized dolls from memory.

Bella was astounded. Jasper and Alice had only known each other for a day longer than she knew Edward. Love at first sight must run in this family, she thought to herself. She braved on with her questions.

"Have you ever…yelled out really, really…really…raunchy loud things that you would never say in everyday life during…that moment." Bella looked at Alice to see if she would think she was disgusting.

Alice squealed loudly and kicked her little feet in the air, "It's always the quiet ones!" She laughed so hard she almost fell off the chaise.

Bella laughed a little, but she was a little upset Alice was laughing at her predicament.

Alice finally looked at Bella and sat in her chair next to her. She put her arm around her shoulders after she calmed herself down.

"Bella, girl, sometimes I'm so loud Jasper gets scared. We can't do shit here because I'm pretty sure the whole house would hear me. That's perfectly normal."

Bella breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn't some kind of weirdo and Edward wasn't just placating her, unless Alice was just as weird as her. She looked at her suspiciously. She looked pretty normal. So, she felt it was safe to assume that she was right about what she said.

"Okay, one more question." Alice was still giggling, but she didn't say anything waiting for Bella to continue.

"Let's just say that one has never performed…oral sex…on a man before and she wanted to…make him feel good. How would one know what to do…hypothetically speaking."

Alice looked at her and a devilish grin spread across her face.

"Bella, my girl, we are about to go through blow jobs 101…the crash course. I have visual aids and DVDs. Sit back and relax."

****DBW****

She wobbled out of Alice's room feeling like she had just left the equivalent of Oz for blow job education in her _modest heels_.

They went back down to the basement. Bella had to hold on to the banister, but she made it down without falling. Everybody looked up and smiled at her.

"You look hot, Izzy Bell!" Emmett smiled and gave her the once over, but not in a lewd or lascivious way.

Jasper smiled, winked at her and gave her the thumbs up. He turned around and watched the TV again.

Amanda ran up to her and said, "Oooooh! You look pretty, sis."

Bella hugged her and said thanks and thanked Emmett and Jasper. She was a little offended because she was trying to figure out how bad she looked normally to cause everyone to stare at her. She didn't see Edward.

Rose smiled big and nodded at her. She made the hand signs for somebody smacking a person's ass. Bella rolled her eyes at her, but she smiled a little.

Carlisle and Esme were gone, as far she could tell.

Amanda hugged her sister's waist and looked at her with what Bella had termed 'the begging eyes.'

"Bella Boo, can I plllleeeeeesssse go back over to Emily's house tonight and have a sleepover? I promise I'll be good and I won't be any trouble at all." She was hopping up and down and she had her hands put together in prayer fashion.

Bella looked up at Emmett and Rose and they nodded that it was okay.

"Okay, Manda Bear, but tomorrow night you're coming home with me, okay?"

She squealed and said thank you profusely.

Rose and Alice suddenly grabbed Jasper's and Emmett's hands and started guiding them towards the stairs.

"Bella, we're going to head on out. Amanda, come on hon. We're heading out to Evanston. Bella we have clothes there that she can wear. She doesn't even have to pack." Rose said quickly.

Bella was confused at all the sudden urgency. She hugged Amanda good-bye and watched as everyone scurried upstairs. She heard Edward say as they got to the top.

"Where is everybody going? They delivered the TV. I thought we were gonna play couples Spades and watch a movie before it's time for Emie to get picked up?"

They all started talking at the same time about how they had to get on, traffic and how they had things to do.

"All four of you are acting weird. Why are you taking Amanda? I thought she was going home with us."

Amanda piped up, "I'm spending the night with Emie!"

He chuckled, "Okay, sweetie-pie. I owe you a horsey ride. Give me my good-bye hug." There was a slight pause.

"Where's Isabella?"

Alice said almost too sweetly, "She's downstairs."

****DBW****

When she heard Edward coming downstairs, she was a little nervous because she didn't know what he'd think about how she looked. She never really even wore make-up, let alone heels. She was wringing her hands a little nervously standing by the wet bar.

"Isabella! Baby, why is everybody acting so strange?"

He looked past her for a second and said, "Oh, my bad. I didn't know anybody else was here. Have you seen…"

Then, he stopped, turned around and really looked at her.

"Isabella?" He walked up to her slowly and looked at her from head to toe and back again. She saw his reaction to her right away in his jeans and she smiled a little feeling happy that he had reacted to her as quickly and strongly as she always reacted to him. When she finally looked up to connect to his eyes, she gasped a little.

Those were his hungry eyes.

****DBW***

_**A/N: Okay, wonderful readers. I'm stopping here, but I should be posting again soon.**_

_**Thanks for all the support and reviews. I really adore you all. **__** Nobody has to read this stuff and you all take time out of your days to do so and even let me know how you feel about it. I really appreciate it.**_

_**Have a great week!**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**A/N: ATTENTION! ATTENTION! There will be lemons in this chapter. It's not gratuitous citrus, but it's citrusy nonetheless. **_

_**These two young grown people are extremely passionate about each other, sooo….read with fair warning.I also want to apologize for any typos here. This was a long chapter and I couldn't seem to catch all of my mistakes. :(  
**_

Chapter 13 – A Day for Passions

Bella watched his eyes flicker between gold and green. He smiled slowly and he said,

"You look so sexy. I mean, you're always beautiful, but…damn! Turn around for me baby."

He demonstrated by spinning his finger in a circle over her head. She shrugged her shoulders and started to do a spin. But, he stopped her,

"Slow down just a little."

She slowly pivoted around and when she finished the full 360 degree he was smiling from ear to ear. He walked forward and picked her up by her bottom and set her on the counter of the wet bar. She wrapped her legs around his lean waist with the dip in his back over his beautiful ass just for her. She crossed her ankles to hold her Edward in place. She loved him so much.

He ran his fingers through her hair.

"It's not wavy anymore."

She got a little nervous, "You don't like it like this?"

He looked at her like he couldn't believe she said that, "Baby, your hair is beautiful like this."

She pulled him closer to her because he always made her feel so pretty. Nobody had ever made her feel that way before. A few other guys said she was pretty, but they didn't make her feel that way and she didn't really believe them. Then, she asked the question that she thought she would never utter in her lifetime. But, she felt just a little out of sorts in Alice's ensemble and what he thought really mattered to her,

"Do these jeans make me look chubby? I usually wear loose fitting jeans."

His eyebrows knitted together, "Chubby? Sweetheart, it doesn't matter what you wear, you wouldn't look chubby. You have the sexiest body I've ever seen. I mean, you're not skinny, which makes me very happy and you have curves and you're thick in all the right places." He squeezed her bottom for emphasis and kissed the hollow above her collar bone.

She rubbed her hands down his muscular arms that she felt were designed just to hold her. Everything about him was perfect. His skin was even toned and cinnamon colored. His waist tapered down into a perfect "V" that she couldn't wait to run her tongue over and take her time with. The few guys she dated had somewhat flat bottoms, but he had a little bubble butt that was tight and his legs…lord have mercy. She didn't even know you could have muscles on top of muscles and they were slightly bowed like they were designed for her to fit in between them.

That video that Alice showed her scared the bejesus out of her. She wanted to make him feel as good as he made her feel, but she didn't know if she was as coordinated or talented as the woman on the video. What she saw that woman do was definitely a professional job skill. She should really be able to put that down on a resume.

Bella still felt like she had no idea what she was doing. She knew the technicalities, but watching it and doing it were two completely different things. She didn't want to hurt him or do anything wrong. Getting a throat culture was a battle with her and her doctor because of her strong gag reflex and he was much bigger than a cotton swab. He was actually bigger than the man she saw in the video. She had gotten a couple of good glimpses…and feels…the night before. She was sure he wouldn't qualify for a spot in the _Guinness Book of World Records_ for penis size, but he was definitely much bigger than the three men she had been with. She was starting to think maybe she should just bake him a cake.

Alice told her just to ask…the hypothetical man…what he likes and it should be fine because they loved each other. Bella didn't think that would be a very sexy scenario and she really thought her face would explode red from embarrassment if she had to talk to him about what she was planning. On the other hand, she really wanted to make him happy and see him come undone again like the night before. That was beautiful.

"Isabella, what are you thinking about, sweetheart?"

"I was just thinking about the fact that you haven't eaten since breakfast and you look hungry. I want to cook for you for a change."

He smiled big.

"Oh yeah? You want to feed me, baby?" She loved it so much when he called her baby. She used to think that couples using pet names was sickly sweet. But, she got all gooey inside when he used that term.

"Yep. Let's go, hungry man." She tried to jump down from the bar, but he wouldn't let her.

Edward reached down and grabbed the back of her thigh and rubbed his large hand with the beautifully tapered piano fingers down her leg and her calf towards her foot following his hand the whole time with his eyes.

"Do you get to keep these?" His eyes turned even hungrier and he licked his lips as he stared at her boots. She smiled and nodded.

"I mean, I think so. Alice didn't mention me giving them back. She gave me a couple of sundresses, too."

He mumbled something about buying Alice a new car under his breath. He stared at her eyes and muttered 'so sexy' under his breath. He stared at her mouth and asked so sweetly and softly it made Bella's heart rate speed up,

"Baby, can I kiss you? I don't want to…you know…mess up your make-up or anything."

"You can kiss me any time you want to. You don't even have to ask." He smiled like he had just won a million dollars. He was so dang lovable it was just too much sometimes.

He gently leaned forward and fitted his top lip under hers and sucked her bottom lip into his mouth. Then he moaned softly and his tongue caressed her lip and he slid it into her mouth. He pulled her body closer to his. She could feel his hardness right against her center and she couldn't help but grind against him. They both moaned deeply and she reached her hands up and buried them into his soft hair and scratched his scalp. She loved his hair and the way her hands smelled like cocoa when she would finally let go of it. He winded his hips against her sensually and slowly. It felt like they were dancing in place. She tightened her legs around him and slid her hands out of his hair and wrapped them around his waist to pull him closer. He said her name softly and his head fell back and broke their kiss. She proceeded to kiss and nibble on his Adam's apple. They never stopped grinding against each other. Her hands traveled down and squeezed his ass and he finally pulled away from her to her utter disappointment. She may have been pouting.

He leaned his forehead against hers and rasped out,

"Your lips taste like strawberries. Is that my imagination, or did you eat strawberries before you came down here because I really love strawberries and your lips with strawberries on them is the best thing I have ever tasted in my life…well almost."

She laughed at how he was rambling and she pulled her tube of lip gloss out of her back pocket. He read the label and smiled.

"Alice gave it to me." He nodded and chuckled.

"Alice and Rose. They're the biggest schemers I have ever known." He looked at her like she was dessert. "But, I really love them for making you into a combination of heaven and Christmas all in one. You even come with a little bow." He played with the tie at the back of her halter and his fingers slid down over her breast. He stopped and used his right hand to gently squeeze and feel her right breast which made her eyes roll into the back of her head a little.

"Isabella…" He pulled her halter over a little on the side and peeked. "Where is your bra?" His voice went three registers lower when he asked that.

Her body responded to the lust in his voice by instantly soaking her panties.

"Uhmm…Alice said there was a bra built into the halter and that these little cover things would make it seem like I was wearing a bra, but I don't agree with her. I still feel bra-less."

She looked down at herself and adjusted her cleavage a little when she finally looked up and caught his eyes, the gold had taken over. She scooted back a little. She had never seen that color before.

He looked at her breasts and licked his lips and he looked at his watch. He pounded his fist on the counter a couple of times. Bella didn't know what was going on. She watched him a little nervously. He looked at her breasts and lips again and he looked at the wall. Then, he looked at the couch in the sitting area and nodded. He reached up like he was going to undo her halter and then a voice called out,

"Hey, is anybody down there? We're back." Esme sang out in a sing-song voice. Edward let out a breath, lowered his hand and adjusted himself. He took deep breaths and closed his eyes. Bella touched his hand and the familiar electricity from his every touch shot through her body.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?"

He nodded, "Let me get you home before I do something really stupid in my parents' house."

He gently lifted Bella off of the bar and reached out for her hand. She put her hand in his and went to pick up the shopping bag with the things Alice had given her, but he beat her to it and carried it for her like the gentleman that he always tries to be.

He guided her to the stairs that led out of the basement and said,

"After you, baby."

Bella carefully walked up the steps slowly because she was scared she was going to fall. She noticed that her pant leg had ridden up over her boot and was stuck in the top, so she bent down to pull it out. She heard him take a sharp intake of breath,

"Shit! Isabella, if you want to make it out of this basement without me throwing you up against a wall and…Just please do not bend over in front of me in those jeans without giving a motherfucka a heads up." Bella's eyes widened at him and she said okay, but she was seriously considering doing it again.

He grabbed onto her waist and urged her forward. He rubbed his hand down one of the cheeks of her bottom and smacked it lightly.

"Keep moving, sexy. The sooner we get home the less likely we are to get arrested for public indecency."

She giggled thinking to herself,

_Well, if you would've made love to me last night, like I asked, you wouldn't be so wound up._

But, what she actually said was, "Yeah, I've been a model citizen for most of my life. What would my father think?"

He flinched and said, "Please don't mention your father while I'm thinking of all the things I want to do to this body. It's just wrong."

He urged her forward again as she was laughing at him. Then she said something that she was hoping would get a good reaction,

"What about all the things I want to do to _your _body? I've gotta go out there and say good-bye to your mom and dad now." She looked back at him over her shoulder.

He stopped at the top of the landing, groaned lowly like he was in a little pain and his hands tightened on her hips as his head fell forward onto her other shoulder.

"You are really going to be the death of me. I can see that now." But, he was smiling pretty big when he lifted his head.

_Score one for assertive Bella._

They walked into the kitchen and Esme and Carlisle both said that she looked lovely. She thanked them and blushed…of course. They all chuckled at her and she rolled her eyes in embarrassment. They both hugged and kissed his parents before they left hand in hand to go back to the loft.

****DBW****

As they were driving back into the city on the expressway…in the fast lane to her horror…Edward started humming a really pretty song. She had heard him hum it before many times, but she didn't recognize it.

"Edward, what is that tune you're humming all of the time?"

"Hmm? Oh! I didn't even realize I was doing that." He smiled softly and his eyes were grass green again. "It's something I wrote a while ago, but I couldn't finish. I think I'm ready to finish it now."

Bella got really excited, "Can I hear it? I really want to hear something you've written." She clapped like an excited kid and if she didn't have her seat-belt on, she would have been bouncing up and down in her seat, like Alice.

"Mae, mae? Have you taken over my Isabella's body?" He looked over at her with a half-smile.

"I was wondering where my jerk went." She smiled big at him and he reached out, grabbed her hand and kissed it softly.

"Of course you can listen to me play. It's just that you can't laugh at me or boo me. I'm an artist. I'm sensitive about that shit." He gave her the most hilarious mock shy face and put his pinky finger up to his pouty mouth like _Dr. Evil_ from the _Austin Powers_ movies.

She laughed so hard she started to hiccup, "You are seriously damaged, Edward Cullen." She bent over the console and kissed his pout. "Of course I won't laugh at you, you nut."

He smiled and nodded. She leaned back thinking about the things Rose and Alice told her that day.

"Speaking of Alice, sweetie, she told me about how she came to you all. I don't understand how anyone could just not claim Alice as a baby. She must've been an adorable baby. She's an adorable adult."

Edward shook his head and his expression turned serious.

"Well, she has us and that's what matters the most. If her parents didn't understand what a treasure they bought into the world, that's their mistake. We're not giving her back." He smiled a little then.

Bella really adored how much he loved his sister. The part of her that had fallen in love with him so deeply wanted to shout to the world what a big heart he had and how loving he was. The selfish side of her wanted to keep him all to herself and never share him. But, someone who loves as big and passionately as he does can't be kept under wraps. She would have to share him with the world. She had actually begun to deflate a little.

"Baby, why are you frowning? What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?"

"I was thinking about how I miss my Manda Bear when she's gone, but I'm glad we have one more night alone." She sat back and looked out the window and watched the city fly past.

He squeezed her hand which he managed to never let go of, although he was maneuvering through traffic like a stunt driver.

"You are such a mama bear, Isabella." He smiled at her and kissed her hand again. "Amanda is so lucky you're her sister." She beamed at him because sometimes they thought so much alike considering she was just thinking the same thing about him.

"I think I'm the lucky one." Edward nodded, but she didn't think he knew that she was including him and his family in that sentiment.

****DBW****

He parked in the underground garage and guided Bella through the garage door again. However, this time he led her into the gym. It was bright with fluorescent lights, newly painted white walls with bright red and blue equipment and mats. It didn't have as strong of a sweat smell as most gyms have. In fact, it smelled kind of floral mixed with the smell of bleach and cleaners. They obviously piped strong air fresheners through the ventilation system. It was busy and she noticed the gym was well equipped with treadmills, and other cardio machines, free weights, weight machines and floor exercise mats.

There were rooms for aerobics classes and a second floor with a track and pool. However, the gym was mainly a gym for doing a boxing workout. There was a boxing ring towards the back of the room. There were heavy bags and speed bags close to the wall where his uncle's picture hung. There were people of all ages, weights, men and women pounding the heavy bags, skipping rope and hitting the speed bags. There were a few trainers sprinkled here and there and they were instructing people how to do things properly. Edward led her towards the boxing area. She noticed some of the women staring at him and trying to get his attention as they walked past. That pissed her off. They were clearly there together and those women didn't know who she was to him. But, she happily noticed, that he didn't even glance their way. She thought to herself,

_Take that bitches! He's with me._

"Baby, I want you to meet somebody very special to me." He laced his fingers with hers and walked towards the ring. Some of the men stopped to look her way. She didn't know what she had done to draw attention to herself. Edward scowled at them and pulled her closer to his side and they quickly turned away. As he got closer to the ring, his scowl disappeared and he yelled out,

"Get to work, old man! I always catch you slacking." An older man was putting a younger man through a vigorous sparring workout. When she really looked she could see the younger man was Six, the fry cook from _Shirley's, _who was working up a sweat. The older man stopped the workout to search out who belonged to the voice and spotted Edward. A big smile spread over his face even with his protective head gear and plastic mouth guard in. The older man lightly tapped Tyler's head gear telling him to take a break, as he took out his mouth piece and smiled. They both walked over and leaned on the ropes to talk to Bella and Edward. Six was pretty muscular and dripping sweat, but he looked like the big happy kid he was because of his boyish grin.

"Ms. Bella! We've missed you at the diner. When are you coming back?" Bella was a little surprised because she was only there for two days. She couldn't imagine anyone really missing her.

She looked timidly at Edward and he winked at her, "I'll probably be coming back next week if Shirley will have me."

Tyler scoffed by waving his gloved hand, "Of course she'll have you back. You actually wanted to work hard. You don't know how hard it is to find somebody like that these days."

Bella was a little taken aback by the maturity of that statement. Edward beamed at him and gave him a pound against his gloved hand. He became a little bashful behind everyone's attention and said he was going to hit the showers because he had to work that night. They said good-bye to him and Edward's chest puffed out a little proudly as he began to introduce her to the man that was left in the ring.

"Enrique Gonzales, this is my lady, Isabella Swan. Isabella, this is the head trainer and manager of this establishment who I have known since I was a wee trouble-maker, Enrique Gonzales, former middle-weight champion of the world." Enrique reached out and bumped Edward on top of the head with his gloved hand.

Bella had turned beet red by the way he introduced her. She had kind of struggled with how to define what he was to her. 'Boyfriend' seemed like a childish term. 'Friend' was not enough. Special friend reminded her of the conversation she had with Angela before this mess began. But, he defined who she was to him so easily and naturally it warmed her all over. Then she realized what he said…former middle-weight champion of the world…her father loved Enrique Gonzales.

By the time Isabella finished her internal musings, Enrique had taken off his gloves and his head gear and was standing in front of her…boxing royalty. One of his wrapped hands was extended waiting for her to take it and he had a huge grin on his face. She rolled her eyes from embarrassment and finally took his hand.

"Well, hello there, Edward's lady, Isabella Swan. Aren't you just the most adorable thing I've ever seen?" Bella smiled timidly at his compliment and she cursed her stupid red cheeks internally. He kissed the top of her hand softly.

"Thank you. It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Gonzales. You can just call me Bella. My father was a huge fan."

"Well, then he had excellent taste and a beautiful daughter. He was a lucky man." He winked at her and she smiled shyly. "Please excuse my sweat and call me Rick. Your man over there is not aware that slavery is over. That's why I'm about to keel over from exhaustion." He eyeballed Edward and punched him in the shoulder lightly. Bella had a feeling if he really punched someone he could still do some damage, even in his late sixties.

Edward feigned offense and gave him his raised eyebrow, "How could I not be aware slavery is over? I'd be somewhere singing old Negro spirituals and planning my escape to freedom instead of catching you napping, if it wasn't. You've taken way too many shots to the head, Rick." They both laughed.

Edward hugged him tightly, sweat and all. Rick held him at arm's length and really looked at Edward like he was doing a physical inventory. He shook his head.

"Yeah, you're still a little shit. Bella, you know keeping him in line is a full time job. Are you sure you don't want to be this old man's lady. I'm much less work."

Edward laughed and gently pushed Bella behind his back, "Get away from my woman. I'll still put on those gloves and fight you. I'm not afraid to fight old people. Baby, don't listen to him." She smiled at how extra silly he was today.

"Now, why would you want to embarrass yourself like that and get knocked out in front of this pretty lady?" Edward laughed and they walked into Rick's office and sat down like the old friends they were after Edward pulled a chair out for her and made sure she was comfortable. It was obvious the two men had an easy camaraderie. They talked for a while, including Bella in their little jibes at each other and reminiscing. Finally, Edward got down to business.

"Rick, Isabella and her baby sister, Amanda, are staying with me in the loft. Isabella will have keys and all the codes. She'll be coming and going to work from here. There will be more security and police around here than normal and I want you and the staff to be extra aware of any odd people milling around that don't have a membership and let us know right away. Also, did you get my email saying that we're not accepting any new memberships until further notice?"

Rick nodded, frowned and looked at Bella, "I did and don't worry, Edward. Whoever you love, I love. I'll keep my eye on Bella and you'll know right away if we see anything suspicious." He smiled sweetly at Bella and patted her hand. She couldn't help but really like this man. She always thought he and Roberto Duran looked similar, although Duran was from Panama and Gonzales had Nicaraguan ancestry, but was born and raised in Chicago. He had the kindest sparkly brown eyes she had ever seen. She nodded at him and thanked him kindly.

"Hey, old man, I see you flirting. I told you…" Edward raised his fist and pointed it at both of his eyes and his mouth and pointed at Rick.

Rick laughed a deep belly laugh at him, "Yeah, I'm shaking in my boots. Get out of here, young-un. It was nice to meet you, little lady."

Bella smiled big at him, "It was nice to meet you too, Rick."

They walked down the hallway in front of the locker room instead of through it since it was business hours. He pushed through another door and they ended up at a stairwell. He came to a door that looked like another maintenance closet and punched in three separate codes. The door opened to a stairwell.

"It's three flights up baby. Can you make it in those heels?" She looked down and seriously debated taking them off when he guided her up about five steps and bent down in front of her with his back to her and said,

"Hop on."

"Edward, I'm not that light! You can't carry me up three flights."

He chuckled and said again sweetly, "I think I can handle it, beautiful. Just wrap your little arms around my neck and I'll do the rest."

She leaned forward, still a little skeptical, and wrapped her arms around his neck and he gently wrapped her legs around his middle. As they were walking up the stairs, he was talking, laughing and bouncing her up and down.

"Edward, if your back goes out, you better not blame me."

He turned his head towards her and kissed her softly.

"You're lighter than the back pack I wore in undergrad at U of C." She gave him the same raised eyebrow look he had given Rick earlier.

He busted out laughing and picked up her right foot and looked at her with those green and gold eyes.

"I really love these boots on you, sweetheart." She smiled and he let them into his loft.

"We're home!" He gently set her down and then bent down to kiss her slowly and deeply. He finally pulled away, so they could breathe.

"Can we go out and come back in, so I can get another kiss like that?" She asked a little out of breath. He smiled adoringly at her.

"You can kiss me any time you want and anywhere you want. I'm yours, Isabella."

He looked at her so intensely and all the electricity that they share went to her heart and to her girly bits as he placed his hand gently against her cheek.

"You should take a shower while I cook you something to eat, hungry man." She kissed his nose.

"What? You don't like the smell of boxer sweat?"

She laughed hard, "You don't smell like boxer sweat. I just want you to be relaxed while I feed you."

He hugged her so tightly she felt like they were joined together. He finally pulled away and closed and locked the front door.

"I'll be back in about fifteen minutes. Can I help you with anything?"

"Nope. Just bring me your sexy wonderful self and I'll have everything I need." He smooched her on her neck and kissed her neck and lightly nibbled on her ear lobe.

"I love you, baby."

She sighed and melted into his arms, "I love you, too."

He finally let go and walked upstairs and she floated into the kitchen to work her magic.

****DBW****

She couldn't t take it anymore. She knew Edward liked her heels and she was starting to like that he liked them so much. But, what kind of sadistic bastard would create anything that hurt this badly for anybody to wear? This Louboutin person, or these people, were going to get a letter from her or something, as soon as she figured out who they were. There needs to be a revolution! On the other hand, she kind of liked this being without a bra thing. It was liberating. Now she understood why her mother's generation burned them. She looked down at her bare feet and considered that all she needed now was a pregnant belly and they would kick her out of the _National Organization of Women. _

As she was contemplating making high heel torture a rallying issue at the next _Take Back the Night March, _she looked through Edward's refrigerator to see what kind of love food she could whip up for them. He seemed to like fish for dinner. He had salmon, halibut and catfish defrosting at the bottom of the refrigerator. Eureka! There were two New York Strip steaks already soaking in a marinade in a Pyrex dish next to the fish. She knew from the catastrophe he consumed at the diner that he was a steak and potatoes man. She wasn't the healthiest eater either, so she really couldn't say much and not be a hypocrite. She consumed so much bacon in the mornings that pigs were actually afraid of her. When she visited a petting zoo in Bolingbrook with Amanda, the one pig that everyone was petting and seemed relaxed around humans squealed and scurried away from her when he saw her. Word must've gotten out.

She pulled the steaks out of the refrigerator and contemplated whether she should grill them, fry them, or broil them. She made her decision as she turned on his broiler in his gas oven. He actually had three ovens; a convection oven and an electric oven that were built into the wall by the refrigerator; one on top of the other, and a gas oven that was built into the kitchen island . His range and grill were on top of the island with a beautiful copper exhaust hood that extended from the ceiling. There was a sink that was deep enough for filling large stock pots next to the range and grill. The rest of the island was devoted to an eating area and he had tall stools surrounding that side of the island.

This kitchen was obviously designed for someone that really baked, cooked, and entertained. Edward didn't seem like he did that much cooking, so it must've been set up this way for Esme and Shirley to cook when they came over. At least, she was hoping Esme and Shirley were the only ones who had cooked here before her. A strong pang of jealousy shot through her chest as she thought of the women in the gym downstairs that were staring at her man like he was a piece of meat and the women he had dated before, like Tanya. She tried to shake it off and focus on the fact that she was there now.

She was busy chopping and peeling and going about the general business of working in his kitchen. She had put her hair back in a ponytail with an elastic band and wrapped the hair into a bun, holding it in place with two pencils she found. She also found an apron so she wouldn't get her pretty shirt dirty and possibly to prevent her pasty covered nipples from getting splattered with hot water.

Bella contemplated that issue and chuckled to herself. A week ago that would have never been a concern. Being in Edward's life had turned her world upside down.

Whenever she cooked or bake she became so absorbed in her thoughts a bomb could go off around her and she wouldn't notice. It had always felt like a high form of meditation. As she was chopping and cleaning the vegetables for the garden salad, the water for the garlic mashed potatoes was boiling. Soon they would be tender enough to mash and she could feed her Edward. She had finished the salad and had turned the steaks in the broiler. She didn't know how he liked them cooked, but she thought just a little pink in the middle would be good and if he wanted it cooked longer, she could do that for him. She didn't do rare outside of a restaurant order. She had been to too many packing houses and knew too much about parasites to ever serve someone she loved a rare steak.

As she was rolling out biscuit dough for strawberry shortcakes, she felt strong arms and large hands wrap around her middle. She jumped a little, but she smelled his familiar scent and leaned back serenely against his chest and relished the safety of his arms. He kissed her neck and used one hand to slide a Corona within her vision with cap already popped off. She smiled big, turned and puckered up her lips for a kiss and he bent down and obliged her eagerly, softly and sweetly.

He backed away and sat in one of the kitchen stools with his Heineken in hand.

"It smells good in here, baby. Are you sure you don't need me to help with anything? I can set the table or something."

She turned around with a mock scowl, "Yeah, make yourself useful and set the table. All I do is work my fingers to the bone and this is the thanks I get?" She held up her Corona and winked at him.

He looked a little nervous at first, but when he saw she was joking he smiled big and said,

"Yes, ma'am. I'll get right on that, ma'am." As he walked past her, he smacked her ass a little harder than usual. She stopped and rubbed the spot and looked at him with her mouth slightly open, partly because she didn't expect it and partly because she kind of…liked it. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and sucked on her bottom lip that was hanging. He reached over her head and pulled out a couple of glasses for them and he walked away like everything was normal.

She watched him walk away and noticed he was already dressed for staying in. He had on gray track pants that snapped up the side and a t-shirt that showed off his tattooed biceps. His pretty feet were bare just like hers. It looked like he had just washed his hair and it was hanging around his shoulders. He reached into a deep drawer in the kitchen island, pulled out the plates and silverware and headed into the sitting area. She guessed he thought it would better to eat there rather than in the dining room or the kitchen. She thought to herself that he might be the sexiest thing she had ever seen. She finally re-focused on what she was doing. She put the biscuits in the oven and pulled out the steaks. She would have everything plated up and ready in ten more minutes. She had already prepared the strawberries for dessert and he already had whip cream. Normally, she made her own, but she really didn't mind the taste of store brought and he obviously liked it since it was in his refrigerator. This was not her best work. But, it was good and fast. She thought everything should taste pretty good, too.

She pulled out a serving tray that was large enough to hold the platter with the steaks on it and the bowl of salad with the loaf of French bread she had warmed. She was getting everything together to take out to the ottoman on the tray when Edward stepped in and lifted it for her.

"Okay, Wonder Woman, I know you have an invisible plane and superpowers. But, how the hell did you think you were going to carry all of this by yourself?" She laughed as he carried the large tray and set it carefully on the ottoman that served as a coffee table.

They piled up their plates with bread, steak, potatoes, and salad. Edward jumped up, went into the kitchen and brought out A-1 sauce, salt, pepper and two different salad dressings. He took the tray off the ottoman and put it on the floor.

"I didn't know if you wanted Italian or Ranch. I have a few others in there if you want to investigate. Do you want another Corona?

"Nope. I'm good for now. I'll get another one later." She cut up her steak into little bite-size pieces, as had become her habit since mothering Amanda. She broke her bread in half and buttered it thoroughly. She cut her salad up and poured ranch in a little dipping bowl she had put on the tray. She liked to dip her bread and her salad in the dressing with it on the side. Edward sat still and quietly watching her perform her rituals and laughed when she noticed him watching.

"You are very interesting, baby." She playfully gave him the finger and began to eat, but she stopped as she watched him shake salt and pepper on the salad and the steak and shake up the A-1 sauce to smother his steak in it.

"Hey, Mr. A-1 and salt, did I not season the meat you haven't even taken the time to taste yet well enough for you?" He watched her face as he slowly put the steak sauce down. When he decided she wasn't really angry. He picked it up again and poured it over his sirloin.

"My tongue knows what it likes." He smiled at her lasciviously as he licked steak sauce off his thumb.

Her mouth dropped open and she blushed as he laughed at her. He bent over the ottoman and kissed her on her forehead.

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to season the food you cooked before I tasted it. I won't ever do that again, okay?"

She smiled at him and nodded.

They talked and laughed like they had known each other their whole lives over dinner. He told her everything was delicious and he demonstrated it by wiping his plate clean with the last of the bread.

"Edward, how do you know Enrique Gonzales?"

They had already cleaned everything up and were sitting on the couch both drinking another beer waiting for the food to settle a little before they ate dessert. Bella had her feet in his lap. He reached behind her and pulled the two pencils out of her hair. Then he pulled out the elastic band. She smiled because he seemed to love her hair as much as she loved his.

He smiled and said, "That's better." Then he ran his hand through her hair.

"Okay, you wanted to know how I know Rick." He swigged down the last of his Heineken and put the bottle on the floor and started massaging Bella's little feet. She sent a silent prayer up to the massage gods because her feet were killing her from earlier that day and his hand felt really good kneading her instep.

"My Uncle Richard and he were in Vietnam together. Richard saved his life. That tied them for life. My uncle was killed by a couple of kids who robbed his candy store. Rick was devastated…and so was I."

Bella couldn't understand why so many people in their lives had been taken so violently by disease and murder

"When I told Rick that I was opening a gym in my uncle's honor and using it to help my grandmother with her _Clean Slate_ program, he was in all the way. I didn't even have to ask him. He used his celebrity to do some fundraising for the program and helped run the gym."

Bella smiled because he was so nonchalant about knowing such a legend.

"How do you know him so well? Did he just hang around the family a lot?"

"Well, yeah, he did hang around the family a lot, but that's not how I know him. I know him because I had a few anger problems growing up and he and Richard got me into boxing to let off some steam."

Bella laughed a deep belly laugh that shook her shoulders, "You _had_ anger problems growing up? So, your anger now is better than it was? That's a little scary, sweetie."

He laughed and tickled her feet. It was a good thing she had finished her beer.

"Believe it or not, I'm not nearly as angry as I used to be. Rick helped me channel things a little better. He told me straight up that if I didn't get my shit together I was going to end up in prison or dead. That woke me up a little. I didn't want to end up faced with either scenario, so I started listening."

Bella nodded because she knew that once he blew off a little steam, he was one of the sweetest men she had ever met.

He jumped up excitedly after gently removing her feet from his lap. He held out his hand for her.

"Come on. You said you wanted to hear a song I wrote." She smiled big and jumped up excitedly forgetting her sore tired feet.

They both padded over to his baby grand where there was sheet music sitting out that was clearly being worked on. There was a chaise and a few other seats around the piano. So, she picked the chair closest by and pulled it up closer to him.

He uncovered the keys and played a few scales. It sounded great to her, but he winced and muttered about having to get it tuned.

He finally smiled at her and said, "This is what I have so far. I've been writing it for the flute and the piano. I pulled it out this morning after I got dressed because some melodies kept popping into my head that I wanted to get down."

She thought he was going to play another R&B song, but he started playing a soft and hypnotic melody that almost reminded her of a lullaby. His fingers flew over the keys and he closed his eyes in a trancelike state as he did the other day while he was singing. When the music was soft his whole body leaned towards the keys. As it became louder in parts, he would back away and sway a little. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to be lulled by the beautiful piece and after a few minutes of sleepy ecstasy, it stopped abruptly. She opened her eyes to try to figure out why he stopped playing. He had picked up a pencil and was muttering over the music sheet scribbling in notes and humming the music that was in his head. She quietly got out of her chair and sat next to him on the piano bench. She would've sworn he didn't know she was there until she thought about quietly slipping away and letting him work. Just as she was about to leave, he quickly reached out with his free hand and laid it on her leg stopping her.

"Don't leave, baby. I'm able to finish because you're here." He looked at her anxiously at first searching her eyes. When she smiled and nodded okay. He squeezed her leg and kept filling in his music sheets, erasing some things and adding others. She sat like that with him for forty-five minutes absorbed in the way his brain works and listening to him hum and watching him scribble and play simple melodies here and there.

He finally looked up at her and smiled big.

"Baby, with you around, I'll finally be able to finish this piece that I've been working on since I was sixteen in no time. How do you like what you heard?" He carefully put his sheet music away and looked at her expectantly.

She looked at him with all sincerity and said, "Are you kidding me? That was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard! I can't wait to hear it once it's finished."

He lit up at the compliment. "It's influenced by a combination of an Irish lullaby my biological mother used to sing me and a hymn my grandmother used to sing to me. The parts my mother influenced are the high parts that I was writing for the flute. But, I can play it on the piano just as well. The more liturgical sound is how I hear Shirley's voice in my head. Bella, people say I can sing, but she has an amazing voice." He was such a special person to her. She leaned in and kissed his cheek softly.

He smiled at her with his grass green eyes.

"You know, ever since I met you and Amanda, things about my biological parents have been coming back to me so clearly…in dreams, day dreams, and vivid memories. I don't know if it's that Amanda reminds me of myself at that age, or that I love you both so much all of the memories of people I have loved are flooding back into my conscious. Maybe it's both." He was talking so quietly it was almost like he was talking to himself. Bella quietly gasped a little. She knew he loved her, but he had never voiced that he loved Amanda. She wanted to go get Amanda, wrap herself up in his arms and never leave the safety of this place again.

He jumped up again excitedly. "Let me show you this xylophone I bought from a merchant from Mali when I was in New York for a week. It makes such a pretty sound, but I really don't know how to play it."

He guided her into his music room after he closed up his baby grand. She loved his enthusiasm. He was like an overgrown kid when he was like this.

He showed her the instrument, which was elaborate and beautiful. He also showed her his first set of drums and a flute he's had since he was fifteen. Bella was looking around and noticed two awards sitting on one of his shelf. She walked towards them, blinking because she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Is that an Academy Award and a Grammy?"

He walked up behind her and guided her away.

"That stuff's not important, baby. Let me show you my recording booth."

"Edward Anthony Cullen, if you don't explain to me how you have an Oscar and a Grammy, I'm going to put you in a choke hold, Rose-style."

He sighed, but he smiled and sat down on a nearby settee and sat her on his lap.

"When I first started as an undergrad, I knew a guy who was a filmmaker. He wanted me to score his film. He knew I would do it for practically nothing and we were both eager to just practice our craft. Well, what started out as a little indie film ended up going with a major distributor and the score won an Oscar. I wasn't even there. I was going through the Police Academy in Springfield when his movie was finally released nationwide and then internationally. I couldn't break my training to go to the Academy Awards, so the director accepted for me. I was calling myself Anthony Masen because I was a silly kid that wanted an industry sounding name. In my head, Anthony Masen had a better ring to it than Edward Cullen. So, technically, I didn't win the award. Anthony Masen did." He smiled big, but she was still watching him with her mouth agape.

"And the Grammy?" He looked like he didn't want to talk about it again.

"I co-wrote a song for a famous R&B singer from Chicago that shall remain nameless because I really don't like him. I was a senior in high school. It was a contest he was hosting along with a local record company and a radio station to find talented young writers and composers. The guy really liked it and put it on one of his albums that did really well. The song won a Grammy for R&B song of the year. I got one too." He shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Edward! You are obviously gifted at music. Why are you working as a police officer?"

"I'm working as a police officer because I don't want any more five-year old boys waking up without their mothers and fathers. I don't want another man that just wanted to open a candy store so kids can have a place like he had when he was a kid to buy treats and get killed by two of them before he even got a chance to open it. That's more important than writing a few pointless songs for the radio or a movie." He looked at her with such an intense amount of pain that she hugged him fiercely. After a few minutes, he said softly through a few tears and laughter,

"I can't breathe, baby." She reluctantly let up a little, but she didn't let him go. They sat there and rocked side to side together. He rubbed her back and ran his fingers through her hair while he hummed that pretty lullaby-like song to her for almost an hour.

"Isabella, it's almost 9 o'clock. I have to make the bed from this morning before we get in it. You want to help me? We can lay there and eat the dessert you made and watch a movie." She nodded and laid her head on his shoulder. He carried her up the stairs so they could go to bed together for the night.

****DBW****

When they reached the room he set her down gently and they both turned and looked at the bed. It was a rumpled mess. Signs of their passion from that morning were all over it from the dried over spots from their release and sweat, to the pillows that were thrown all over the floor.

"Well, baby, you made the mess. Now you have to clean it up." She walked over to the bed, picked up a pillow and threw it at him.

"Oh, I made the mess? You didn't have anything to do with it, huh?"

He gave her his innocent eyes, "I have no idea what you're talking about." He bent over to pull the comforter off the bed and she jumped on his back.

He fell forward because she caught him off balance.

"Isabella, did you see a mosquito land on my back? It's quite annoying and I can't reach it to swat it."

He reached behind himself to try to swat her on the ass, but she kept dodging out of his way. He finally turned around and leaned back, releasing her arms gently after he tickled her sides to make her loosen her hold. Her upper body fell off of him onto the bed with an oompf, but her legs stayed wrapped around his waist by her ankles. He started wiggling his hips trying to shake her loose. She cracked up laughing and swatting his little bubble butt every time he did it.

"Hmmmm…I think I'm gonna need a fly swatter. He reached down and tickled her feet and she started kicking and let go immediately.

"Uncle! Uncle!"

He smiled proudly and pumped his arms in the air.

"That's what I thought. I win. You lose." He bent over her to kiss her, but she bit his bottom lip.

"Ow! That mosquito is back." She let his lip go because she was laughing at him so hard.

He turned her over and swatted her on her bottom lightly several times. She was wiggling and laughing. He was blowing raspberries on her neck.

"Edward, stop it! Grow up a little!" He smiled and let her turn over. She was all flushed and breathing hard.

"Jerk." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Beautiful." His eyes sparkled green at her and she got all melty inside.

After they finally stopped teasing each other and finished making the bed. They flopped down into it. It was a hard job making the bed of a California King. Edward usually did it by himself, but Bella was distracting him because she was pinching his bottom and kissing his stomach every time she passed by him. Then, he would tackle her and kiss her deeply for several minutes and they would have to tuck the sheets in all over again.

"Baby, next time, don't help me. You're too much of a distraction. I think you may be the cause of Attention Deficit Disorder in males."

"Look who's talking head-turner. How long did it take for your other girlfriends to help you make up this bed?"

Edward stopped laughing and looked at her. His eyes turned a little brown. She sat up and looked at his face. He had turned completely serious.

"Isabella, I have never had another woman besides my family in this loft let alone this bed. I love you. You are special to me and I can't believe you just asked me that."

She searched his eyes waiting for them to turn back green, but they just got more brown.

He got up quietly and said,

"Baby, I'm going to take another shower. Pick out a movie for us."

He walked into the bathroom and locked the door.

She grabbed a pillow and put it over her head and mumbled into it.

"Shit! I'm such an idiot."

****DBW***

She went back down the stairs and grabbed the bag Alice packed for her with goodies for sexy time with Edward, or "Hypothetical Man," as Alice had started calling him. She was internally kicking herself. Why did she always let idiotic shit fly out of her mouth?

She decided to take a shower in the bathroom that connected Emily's room and the guest suite. More indicators of his complete and told devotion to his family and his sweetness were all over the bathroom and there were two sets of towel racks; one was for an adult's height and the other was for a kid's height. He had totally re-arranged things to take care of Emily while Rose and Emmett worked until Rose's mother decided to come back into her life. Now, he was doing the same thing for her and Amanda. Of course he didn't take the kind of intimacy they shared lightly, or share it with just anybody.

She showered washing off all the make-up Rose had put on her. She put on the most modest thing in that bag; a midnight blue teddy with matching boy shorts that just barely covered her ass. When she got back into Edward's room, he was still in the shower. She threw her now wavy hair from her shower back into a ponytail and went down to the kitchen to construct the strawberry shortcakes with whip cream. She would offer that as a peace offering.

She carried the desserts upstairs on a little breakfast tray and tried to find a funny movie to watch. She put on _There's Something About Mary_. That was classic funny and nobody would be able to keep being mad while watching that and hearing the 'franks and beans' line.

She paused the movie and waited for Edward to come out. He came out bare-chested rubbing some type of cream into his scalp and locs. He had on sleeping pants and walked over to the bed without really looked at her. He slid into bed and he finally looked up at her. His eyes traveled down her body and when he finally made contact with her, they were green again, but this time with the gold hungry specks.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I didn't mean to make you mad with that question about the other girls. I asked it without thinking."

He shook his head and smiled at her.

"You don't have to apologize. We haven't known each other long. There's no way you could've known that you are the first woman to be here with me like this. I overreacted. I'm sorry."

She used the ultimate subject changer…food.

"I made strawberry shortcakes."

His face lit up and he said softly,

"Thanks, baby." She leaned over and sucked on his cheek like he always did her. He smiled at her and snuggled her closer to him.

She turned on the movie and they fell asleep in each others' arms in bed laughing at Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon and Cameron Diaz.

****DBW****

Bella woke up from the best dream ever with the most delicious heat wrapped around her. It was dark in the room, so she couldn't make out much. Edward had his head buried in her neck and one of his hands buried under her teddy, softly kneading her right breast causing her nipple to harden under his touch. She could tell by the rhythm of his breathing that he was still asleep. The comforter had been kicked off during the night, so all that heat was coming from his closeness. She moved her bottom against him unintentionally and he moaned into her neck and squeezed her breast just a little harder. His body was flush against hers. He was definitely a snuggler. She moaned because his other hand was down the front of her boy shorts rubbing on her clit and playing with her hair down there. One of his legs was sandwiched in between hers. She smiled at the fact that he had her completely surrounded by him. She resisted grinding into his hand because she needed to get out of bed.

"Edward, baby, I have to…pee. Can you please…release me." She giggled because she didn't know a polite way to ask that and she was hoping he would hear her and release her from his snuggle hold.

He mumbled in his sleep about never letting her go and pulled her closer. She finally had to tickle his ribs to get him to roll over and let her go to use the facilities. She eased the cover back over him and slid out of bed because it was a little chilly at night despite the fact that his heat was keeping her warm.

Even though she was asleep while he was snuggling with her, her body wasn't because her panties were completely soaked through and her body was flushed pink like she had recently had an orgasm. She couldn't believe this man could even excite her body in her sleep. She splashed water on her face and noticed that the tie that held her hair in a ponytail was gone and it looked like hands had run through it all night. She definitely had sex hair. She tossed her teddy and boy shorts in his laundry, cleaned herself up a little, and wrapped a towel around herself. She crept back into his room and decided to just put on one of his t-shirts to sleep in. He never seemed to mind. She grabbed a t-shirt out of his chest of drawers and put it on and tossed the towel onto the chair by his closet and went to get back in the bed. She looked at the time on the clock and it was 3 in the a.m. It was Saturday, so they really didn't have anything urgent to do. Amanda was with Emie, so she was even considering picking her up in the afternoon so her baby sister could have a little more fun. She didn't have a lot of friends. It was good to see her so happy.

She slid back in bed and reached her hand behind her so that she could find Edward's body and snuggle close to him again. When she finally reached him all she felt was skin. She rolled over and really looked at him. She sighed at his long eyelashes, stubble, wild hair, and little boy pout. She knew he didn't have on a shirt when he came to bed so she lifted up the comforter to see what was going on and she almost fell out of bed. He was completely naked. She looked around for where his sleep pants had gone, but she didn't see them anywhere.

She took a real opportunity to look at this man she loved. She already knew about the tattoos around his biceps. She noticed the other day that Emmett had that same design around his. Her fingers traced the tattooed date she noticed on his chest the day before in beautiful script right over his heart. Because of what Alice told her, she now knew that was the date both of his parents died…6-19-85…the day before his sixth birthday. She slowly traced those numbers with her tongue and kissed him softly over his heart.

She pulled the covers back and kneeled next to him so she could really look at his sleeping form. Most men that worked out had a six-pack. He had an eight pack. He was all muscle. The only place with a little bit of fat on his body was his cute little round bottom and that was still so muscular that there were indents there on the sides. She tried to ignore his hardened cock that was laying against that perfect stomach for a moment and really look at the rest of his body. He was fucking beautiful to her. He looked like coffee with heavy cream and she wanted a cup before they couldn't have any alone time.

Her eyes traveled back up at his cock that she didn't know if she would be able to pleasure properly. She thought about the pain that he had been through and how he was still able to love with all his heart even though it was terrifying for him. She thought about how much she loved him and how she wanted to show him in every way. Suddenly she stopped being nervous about hurting him or 'doing it right.' She just wanted to make him feel good, so she forgot about the professional blow job woman from the DVD and focused on her beautiful sleeping angel of a man…her Edward.

She started at his pretty feet and lightly kissed all ten of his toes. He giggled a little in his sleep and shifted. She giggled quietly. Bella kissed and nibbled on every inch of his hard legs. There was a little hair on them, mostly around his thighs…his thighs that could crush a watermelon. She licked the inside of his right thigh until she got to the vee of his hips. Then she went to the other one and did the same thing. He mumbled something about something being sweet in his sleep, but she couldn't quite make it out.

She kissed his arms with little pecks and licks and sucked on both of his biceps. She straddled his waist and bent down and sucked on his right nipple and flicked it with her tongue. She sucked on his pec and nibbled lightly. He started to moan and buck up against her. She moved to the other nipple and did the same thing. He smiled and his hands grabbed her bottom. She chuckled and gently removed them so she could keep traveling in his sleep.

She licked down his stomach and kissed every ab muscle on the way down to his happy trail. She ran her hands over the light smattering of brown hair on his chest and rubbed her hand down his trail of hair that led to his dick. She really looked at it as she held him in her hand. He was long, thick and brown. His skin was smooth and the contrast of the feel of his skin, the weight of him and how hard he was completely mesmerized her. She had never really studied a man like this before. She was always too shy, or things always went too quickly. But, she didn't feel shy with Edward right now. The tip of his manhood was a darker brown than the rest and it was leaking pre-cum that made the tip glisten. He reminded her of a tootsie roll lollipop. She kissed the tip and spread the moisture around with her finger. He moaned and bucked into her hand. She snickered as she remembered the commercial about how long it takes to get to the tootsie roll center.

She temporarily let his cock go because she would get back to that in a minute; she wanted to save the best for last. She started to lick the "V" of his hips on his right side. She didn't have the lubrication that Alice gave her, but she didn't need it. She was actually salivating over him and what didn't come from her mouth, she could reach between her legs and get. She moved to the other side and did the same thing. He was whimpering and saying her name. She smiled because she didn't understand how he could still be asleep. She was actually straddling him and nibbling on him. She would have to tease him about that later. Bella reached down and gently fondled his balls. He moaned lowly and long as she lightly sucked on both of them and she noticed that he didn't taste bad or smell bad at all. The was one of the things she didn't know how well she would react to. They looked a little weird, but he was just a little musky. He still smelled like his usual cocoa smell and just…Edward.

She reached for his cock again and rubbed it up and down gently with both hands. She didn't want to be rough with him at all. She wanted it to feel good for him. She softly blew up his length. He started mumbling and squirming. She smiled at the effect she was having on him. She licked his entire length from bottom of the shaft to tip. She repeated the action like she was licking on her own personal lollipop.

She finally started to slide his length in her mouth. She was trying to focus on how he was feeling and reacting instead of his size. She licked around the head and dipped her tongue into the slit at the top. Then, she felt hands slide into her hair and a sleepy voice say,

"Isabella?" She slid as much of him as she could into her mouth while gently sucking and stroking what she couldn't with her hands as he opened his eyes and made contact with hers.

"Baby…_aaaaahhh_…shit! What are you…._uunnngghh_…doing,…_shit that feels good_…?" She moaned around him because his voice and moans sent shivers down her spine. She released him with a pop.

"If you have to ask, I must not be doing something right."

He lifted himself up on his elbows still confused from sleep.

"I thought I was having a really fucking good dream." They both laughed.

"Baby, why am I naked?" She shrugged. When God does you favors you don't ask why or how.

She smiled at him, "May I continue?" He reached out and ran his thumb over her lips and said softly,

"Come here, sexy lady." She crawled up his long body and he flipped her over and kissed her deeply and she moaned as he bucked up against her center.

"Not this time." He rubbed his nose over hers gently and intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Can you try something with me baby because I've been studying your thighs since you put on those jeans yesterday?" He motioned for her to lift her arms and he pulled his t-shirt off of her.

She nodded and sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. He gently pulled her lip out and sucked on it.

"That's mine. Stop biting it." She laughed at him and shook her head.

He smiled so adoringly at her that her heart rate sped up. She didn't give a shit about morning breath or bed hair or none of that shit.

"Turn over, sweetness, and get up on your hands and knees for me, so I can see that luscious ass." His voice was deep and raspy from sleep and she almost came just from the request. She eagerly did what he asked.

"W-What are you going to do?"

He laughed and leaned over her back and kissed her on the side of her neck. Then, he licked her from the base of her spine to the top of her neck. Bella moaned and shivered.

"Something that's going to make us both feel good." He turned her chin and kissed her deeply.

He reached into his side table and pulled out some lubrication. Bella's eyes got big.

"Uhmmm…Edward, I'm open to a lot of things, but that hole is only an exit hole." He laughed loudly and leaned his forehead on her back.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I told you we're not making love until the time is right." Bella huffed because she didn't understand why in the world the time wasn't right. They loved each other. They were both grown and, at the moment, they didn't have to worry about Amanda hearing them. To Bella's utter embarrassment, she found out recently that she was the one they both had to worry about. She never knew she was a screamer before him.

"We'll _both_ know when the time is right because I can tell what's going though that pretty little head right now. I'm not going to do anything that would be cause for you to be nervous. Trust me. I love you. Just relax."

He poured the lube on his hands and asked her to spread her thighs. She complied and he rubbed it on the inside of both of them.

"Close these thick thighs for me as tight as you can baby." She did and he placed his bent legs on either side of hers while he stroked her bottom and her back with his large hands and he kissed her on the small of her back. Before she realized what he was planning, he pushed his cock through her tightened thighs.

"Ahhhh! Baby, that feels good. Tighten these thighs up on me like your delicious pussy would."

She moaned loudly and did as she was told as he pushed in and out of the tight space between her thighs and reached his right hand around and began to gently knead her breast in his hand rubbing his thumb in soft circles over her nipple, while his left helped him maintain his balance. His cock was rubbing against the lips of her vagina and hitting her clit every time he pulled back and pushed forward. She knew she was coating him with her juices because she could see him glistening from them every time he pushed through.

The room was filled with the sound of skin slapping skin, moans, and pants. He kissed her spine from the middle to the top and back again. She tried to squeeze him every time he pulled back, but her legs and thighs were getting tired from being in that position and her building climax. Her legs started to shake a little and he smacked her ass lightly and rubbed it softly.

"Are you getting tired, baby?" He said with a deep trembling voice.

She nodded because she had never felt anything as erotic as this and she had lost her voice. He reached down and lightly stroked her clit with his hand and she could feel all that delicious pressure building. She reached down with her hand and every time he thrust forward she spread her thumb over the head of his cock.

He growled out, "Isabella, baby, your thighs feel so good around me and you're so wet. Is that all for me, love?"

She moaned out, "Yes! Every part of my body inside and out is all for you."

He moaned loudly, pulling her back flush against his chest and started to thrust erratically. Sweat had been dripping from his chest and stomach onto her back and now it was running down her bottom and the backs of her legs. She felt like she was being baptized.

" Are you about to come for me, sweetheart?" She nodded vigorously

He pulled away and flipped her onto her back underneath him. She immediately felt the relief in her legs and arms. He rubbed his shaft with his own hand up and down and over his tip. She pouted because she wanted to do that for him. He looked at her with lust filled green-gold eyes like he couldn't decide which thing he wanted to do to her next. He finally locked eyes with her and smiled.

"I love you so much, Isabella." He eased down her body kissing and licking everything he could along the way. Finally, his mouth latched onto her clit and he slid three fingers into her pussy and turned his wrist to hit her spot. He was winding his hips against the bed to get his release and they both came so hard and loud together, she knew somebody had to hear it.

He passed out with his head on her stomach and she reached down and pushed her hands into his hair and said softly,

"I love you too, Edward."

They both fell into a deep sleep wrapped around each other.

****DBW****

When Bella woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon, she felt like she had just come out of a ten-year coma, but the clock only read 11 a.m. She dragged herself out of bed half-asleep, but realized suddenly that she was completely naked. She scurried over to the chair and wrapped the towel around her from earlier that morning. Then, she slowly smiled because the activities of that morning came back to her and the memories started to make her body react. That was a helluva way to start your day.

She shook her head of the memories so she could function and went into the bathroom to shower and dress.

She threw on a fresh pair of underwear a real bra, and slipped on the same jeans she had on the day before. She grabbed one of Edward's jerseys out of the drawer and threw her hair up in a mess pony tail. She ran down the stairs towards the food smells because she was starving. She almost slid into the kitchen like a new puppy. Edward looked up from his lap top freshly showered and bright eyed.

"Good morning, beautiful." She walked over and straddled him which caused his eyes to go content green.

"Good morning, beautiful, yourself." She kissed him all over his face and he laughed that sweet little boy laugh she loved so much.

He looked a little ashamed, "I already ate baby. I'm sorry. I was starving. But, the food's not cold. I didn't get up that much earlier than you. I just couldn't wake you. You look so peaceful when you sleep. I could make you something hotter."

She put her hand over his mouth.

"Stop rambling, hungry man." He chuckled at her and kissed the palm of her hand. She went and fixed herself a plate and came back and sat back on his lap. The other chair at the table was waaay too far away from him. He squeezed her around the middle while he watched her eat. He would bounce her up and down to mess with her occasionally and she would pinch his side to make him stop. He sucked on her neck and nibbled on her earlobe the whole time.

"Excuse me, detective. I thought you said you already ate."

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and buried his face in her neck and hair sniffing her.

"I never get enough Isabella."

She didn't know what was going to happen the next day, but today she was happy as hell.

****DBW***

_**A/N: Back in the Flintstone ages when I used to stop my car with my feet and I was in undergrad, I used to help organize Take Back the Night marches. So, I am not trying to make light of the issues that cause women and some men to rally against violence against women. It's just the way Bella thinks and her internal monologue. **_

_**Her ideas about womanhood that she's had her whole life and being really in love with a man to the point of almost wanting to give him her entire self are conflicting right now (which, in real life, is unhealthy, in my opinion…but, hey, this is Bella and Edward world. I'm going to let this girl feel safe enough to want to give herself away to him. Don't worry he loves her too much to let her do it.). **_

_**I just wanted to get that out there; especially in light of the rape issues that this story touches on.**_

_**Okay, wonderful readers! Thanks for reading and reviewing. It really keeps me going and it makes this fun. So, if you feel so inclined, please continue. **_

'

_.._


	14. Chapter 14

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**A/N: This is a short one, but it's very meaningful. **_

Chapter 14 – A New Clue

Edward was scared to death. He hadn't felt like he needed a Paxil or had a nightmare about the murdered women since Isabella told him she loved him back. He only had one left and he hadn't spoken to or seen Jacob since Isabella fell and cut her arm at his grandmother's apartment. He flinched at the memory of Isabella hurt and unconscious in his arms.

The usual waves of anxiety and turmoil that crashed under the surface of his mask of angry righteous indignation and control had turned into placid pools of tranquility around her. However, on Monday he had to send his Isabella back out into the world where a man was eagerly waiting to end her life and, therefore, his reason to live. The irony of his life and his rising fear were causing his heart to ache and his lungs to feel too small for the air it had to take in. It wasn't a full blown panic attack, yet. But, he was getting there.

That Saturday would go down as one of the top ten favorite days of his life. Isabella was so happy when she woke up later that morning after she woke him up in the early morning hours with her kisses, nibbles, and licks. It made his heart swell. She was so playful sometimes, which was perfect for him because he could be pretty goofy. It took forty-five minutes to make the bed again due to kisses, bottom pinches and wrestling matches in the sheets. They were competing for the last of the most delicious chocolate chip cookies with pecans he had ever tasted and that she baked just for him. He kept letting her win because he got to be pinned underneath his Isabella and she gave him chocolate laced kisses from her sweet lips. She would do the cutest little victory wiggle. It was a win-win.

They just puttered around the loft stealing kisses and hugs after that. He had recorded himself playing an instrumental of a song he really loved by a singer and songwriter he really admired and, in his opinion, was really underrated, Eric Benet. He turned on his sound system in the music room to play it throughout the loft so he could hear it while he was doing some research on his lap top in the kitchen. Isabella was making herself at home and baking some oatmeal raisin cookies for Emily's return. He was thinking about how right this felt and he started to sing as the familiar chords played.

_You're the only one I want_

_You're the only one I need in my life_

_You're the only one I love_

_You're the only one I need in my life_

_I see the world through a haze of memories_

_And other girls don't mean a damn_

_Thing to me_

_It's kind of sad how they just_

_Don't compare_

_Time will tell let's wait and see_

_If the love we had was meant to be_

'_cause I know we've got a future out there_

'_Cause you're still my girl I don't care_

_What they say_

_Let's go back to our world don't you_

_Throw this love away_

'_Cause I still believe in the magic of us_

_It's just a matter of time and it's a matter _

_Of trust_

_Now girl it took some time to get real _

_with myself_

_Now love ain't easy sometimes_

_But when you find it you stay together_

He repeated the chorus and the piano music he recorded came to an end. He loved to sing and play songs with true emotion and meaning behind the words, but he didn't do it for attention or anything and he actually preferred playing the music over singing the lyrics. He got up to turn on another song and he almost ran over his Isabella.

"Oh, I'm sorry, baby. I thought you were still by the counter." He smiled down at her and her eyes were hooded like they get when she's…in the moment. He didn't know that making cookies was that sensual. He sat back down.

"Isabella, are you alright?"

She was moving forward like a predator with the same look on her face. He was a little nervous…but intrigued. She climbed onto his lap and licked her lips.

"Did you write that song?" She purred out like the little vixen she was.

"No, sweetie." He laughed a little. "That's Eric Benet. He makes me feel like a kindergartener when it comes to music." She was squirming a little in his lap and he reached out to wrap his hands around her hips.

"Are you feeling okay? You look a little…flushed."

She was staring at his lips and then she buried her hands in his hair. He was still a little clueless, but he didn't mind at all. He was hers. She could do with him what she liked. Then, it hit his clueless ass that she was reacting to the lyrics and what she most likely wanted to do and his body reacted immediately.

"What's the name of that song?" She asked as she slowly and sensually nibbled on neck and grinded against him.

"Uhmmmm….ahhhh…that feels good…let me think…Oh! Yeah…It's called _You're the Only One_. You like it?" It occurred to him how neatly the song title described his feelings for her and he grinned to himself.

She looked into his eyes and smiled a slow and sexy smile. She licked her lips and nodded. He reached up and ran his thumb over her bottom lip and memories of how she woke him up that morning came flooding back to him and he grew harder. Despite that he said,

"Isabella, baby, we have to pick up Amanda." She had started to unbutton his shirt and kiss his Adam's apple.

"We don't have to rush." She moaned out and threw her head back and she held onto his shirt for leverage as she leaned back and winded against him a little more aggressively.

He groaned because he loved that she was taking control, but he hadn't completely lost his mind at that point.

"Sweetheart, Emmett has to go to training and Rose has to go to work. She's taking Emily to her mom's. His regular season starts soon and he can't miss or be late to training…_ahhh shit…hold it right there for a sec_… So, we have to be there before four this afternoon…_mmmmm_… We would have to rush if we did something now. I don't want to rush with you." He kissed her softly on her lips that were now in a full out pout.

"But, we can take our time later. I want you now." She started to grind her hips in a perfect figure eight against his cock and unbutton the fly of his jeans. For a moment he forgot his own name and he was going to let her do and give her whatever she wanted. If she had kept on moving her hips like that, she could have had every dime in his bank account, his properties, and his cars. She and Oprah could compare notes on being Billionaires and having men that loved them and followed them around like puppies. Then they both smelled smoke and the detector started to go off.

Her eyes widened and she jumped off his lap. They both ran over to the convection oven…well, Isabella ran and Edward hobbled while trying to adjust himself, calm down and refasten his jeans.

"Shit!" She pulled the burnt oatmeal raisin cookies out of the oven.

Edward tried his best not to laugh because she looked so cute standing there trying to see if they were salvageable.

"Baby, we can stop and get some cookies at this really nice bakery in Evanston. Let 'em go. They're dead."

She looked up at him with a mock scowl on her face. She looked like a really cute and angry kitten about to pounce.

"It's your fault these cookies are burnt. I told you that when you sing…it affects me. I guess you thought I was kidding around."

He laughed quietly as she threw the cookies away and as she was putting the cookie sheet in the sink; he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and said,

"Everything you do affects me."

She smiled and sighed as she leaned back into him. He lightly smacked her bottom.

"Let's go, puddin'. Times a wastin'." He was thinking that would be her new pet name since that's how she tasted on his tongue.

He walked to the island and closed up his lap top and put it in its carry case. He heard Isabella muttering about a stupid pretty man with a sexy voice, smackin' people on the ass and something about using his handcuffs to do something to him as she was turning the oven off and turning on the exhaust to get rid of the smoke.

His eyes widened a little as he tried to review in his mind why exactly he hadn't made love to her until she couldn't walk straight and the only thing he could remember was something about wanting it to be special. He would have to think about it again later when visions of a kinky Isabella handcuffing him to the bed were dormant in his brain. He looked around and opened the drawer where he normally kept an extra pair of handcuffs and stared at them longingly until Isabella interrupted him,

"Let's go, 'Mister We Can't Have Fun Until you Feel it's the Right Time."

He was thinking about how long that name is and how he'd never fit it on a form when he noticed Isabella staring daggers at him.

"Uhmm…Baby, maybe we should talk about this on the way to get Amanda. You look kind of pissed."

She huffed at him, "Come on, sexy man. I'm not really mad. But, we should go get my sister before I attack you again."

He watched her ass as she was walking away and looked at the clock. It was 2:30. They might be able to do a little something…

"Edward, come on. It's still smoky in here. I can't wait to meet Emily."

He breathed a sigh of relief because if they had stayed a little longer, their special moment would've been right then on the kitchen counter.

****DBW****

One of the many things that he really loved about their relationship so far was that they could talk about anything, even if one of them was mad at the other. They never stopped talking for long. They even had an interesting little conversation on the way to Evanston.

"Edward?"

He gave her his full attention by turning off the music. He didn't even drive in the fast lane this day. It was Saturday and traffic wasn't bad.

"Yeah, puddin'." She smiled big and looked at him.

"That's new. Where did that name come from?"

"The way you taste to me. You taste like vanilla pudding." He didn't even bat an eyelash. That was the truth.

He looked at her and she was smiling and turning pink in the cheeks, which he could watch all day.

She twisted around in her seat as much as the seat belt would allow. He found out the day before that she would have a fit if he even put the car in gear without putting on his seat belt and she always snapped hers right away. He thought she was a little too much of a worrier, but snapping a seat belt so she can feel safe and not worry was not a big thing; after all, it was the law.

"Edward, do you think we'll always be like this? Sometimes our relationship feels like a fairy tale. Fairy tales don't happen in real life do they? Do you think one day we're going to stop telling each other we love each other and start to take each other for granted?"

He felt an intense warming inside at the fact that she was talking about their future together, although she was doubting it and asking if they would always be this passionate.

"Well, baby, I can't predict the future, like Mae Mae. But, I can tell you that I've lost enough people I love to never take love for granted. The worst thing that could happen is that you get sick of me smooching all over you and watching you eat."

She laughed and rubbed the back of her hand down his cheek.

"Yeah, the watching me eat thing might start to piss me off, but the smooching is no problem at all. I'll never get tired of that."

He laughed loudly and kissed her cheek.

"Edward, what kind of fairy tale starts out with a serial killer chasing one of the characters? I mean, the Brothers Grimm fairy tales were pretty violent, but come on. Do you think you would've even noticed me if your grandmother hadn't made us go up to her apartment together? You seemed pretty put off by me at first. I mean, I'm a writer and I don't think I would've written things the way they've happened for us."

He looked at her with a frown because he remembered thinking that she was some type of demon from his nightmares because of all the feelings she brought out in him at once and how closely she resembled all the victims of the Night Stalker. He was also a little crazier than usual and sleep deprived at that time. Edward swallowed hard because his thoughts had been similar to what that murdering bastard said to him the other day on the phone about her being a succubus. Now he was clear on the fact that she was his angel and savior. All of the passion inside of him had been dead before her. He had begun to feel like he had no soul and he had stopped believing in God when his uncle was murdered. She helped resurrect him and his faith.

"I guess we're going to have to Disney up our fairy tale then, baby, because I'm going to do everything in my power for us to have a happy ending. I was put off by you a little at first, true. It wasn't anything you did. It was all in my head. But, I truly believe that our thing is destiny, baby. We've talked about this. It might have taken a day or two longer for me to talk to you. But, I definitely wouldn't have been able to resist you for long."

She laughed and nodded.

"Well, that goes both ways, sweetie. I thought you were the most beautiful man I had ever seen."

He looked at her and grabbed her hand because whatever the thing was that the one saw in the other initially…beauty, voluptuousness, sexiness, etc…he was grateful for it, even if it was superficial, because what they had now delved deeply below the surface of things, at least in his mind and heart.

"Did you know my dad was there at the hospital the day you were born?"

She shook her head no with wide eyes. He told her that he was there and someone took a Polaroid of him holding her. It could've of even been her father that took it. Edward told her that his father used to say that their marriage was pre-arranged and he didn't even have to date.

"I don't believe you, Edward! You're making that up. Where is this supposed picture?" She said half smiling at him and half serious.

"My pop has it. I gave it to him when I talked to him about some things the other day."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Bella said that like she was skeptical, but he could tell by her eyes that she believed him and was anxious to see that picture.

They drove in a comfortable silence as the conversation they had that morning after breakfast at the kitchen island came flooding back to him. He wanted her to know everything about him that was important and vice versa.

"_Isabella, do you know how my father died?"_

_She shook her head no, eased off his lap and sat in the stool next to him. She gave him her undivided attention._

"_He was an FBI Agent that was undercover with the Volturi clan; Aro Volturi, in particular. Have you ever heard of them?"_

_She looked at him like he had grown another head, "Of course I have. Rumor had it that they were the reason the Newborns were able to expand to Chicago so easily." _

"_Yeah. I've heard that rumor myself, but it's never been confirmed. Aro is dead, but Marcus and Caius are still alive and in federal prison. It's still believed that the Volturi are running things in Chicago from prison"_

_Bella had no problem believing that at all._

"_My dad had gotten enough information to make RICO charges stick on the family. He was killed the night of the bust by Aro's wife, Jane."_

_She had the most loving liquid brown look of empathy in her eyes that he wanted to immerse himself in. She picked up his hand and kissed it softly and said she was so sorry he lost his father. He thanked her and really believed her because he knew she knew what it was like to lose your father that way._

"_Jane Volturi's been on death row since 1988. It took a few years for the case to go to trial. Her lawyers kept asking for a change of venue and continuances because they claimed she couldn't get a fair jury trial in Illinois due to the family's infamy. The Federal Prosecutor argued that their infamy wasn't limited to Illinois and wasn't even limited to the U.S., so having a jury trial here was as fair as anywhere else and the judge agreed._

_She's had several appeals, but the death penalty was put on a moratorium a few years back in IL. The state legislature's thinking about making it permanent. She's most likely going to die an old woman in prison."_

_Bella had a look on her face that he couldn't really discern, but he could tell she was listening intently. He continued,_

"_Believe it or not, I'm against the death penalty. I always have been. Not because of any moral objection. I believe in an eye for an eye. But, the system is so imperfect and there are so many mistakes made, a lot of innocent people end up on the row. Also, it's not used consistently enough to be a deterrent. So, I'm okay with Jane dying in prison instead of being put to death. I don't know how my grandmother and my aunt feel about it. But, that's how I feel."_

_He watched Isabella nod, but she didn't say anything for a minute or two. It seemed like she was trying to find a way to say what she had to say._

"_I understand your position Edward, but if I could find out who killed my father and there was an opportunity for that person to be put to death, I would finally feel that some justice had been served."_

They sat and talked more about what it was like growing up without the men they both loved and respected. She mentioned how lucky he was to have so much family and so many men that were willing to step up in his life and fill in for his father. That had been pointed out to him repeatedly lately. But, looking at his Isabella's eyes as she talked about how alone she was without her dad because her mom wasn't there for her in many ways made him feel like shit when he had to be reminded of his good fortune. A lot of things happened to him as a kid and he was lonely sometimes for various reasons but, he was never alone.

After having this deep conversation, she made cookies and they went to the bedroom to make the bed and ended up making each other laugh and having a very good time. That's how it was with them. They could talk about serious issues one second and in the next second he could be tickling her and she'd be telling him to grow up already.

He smiled thinking about what they must've looked like on the outside looking in. They probably seemed like an odd pair in a lot of ways to some people. But, the only thing that people that loved him saw was that he was with someone that made him extremely happy and he had love in his life, truthfully, for the first time ever. He realized now that the other two times that he thought he was in love, he didn't feel nearly the pull and connection that he felt with Isabella and he dated them much longer before the subject even came up. He thought to himself that he is fortunate to have had the opportunity to know what love isn't so he could better appreciate what it is when he found it.

****DBW****

Isabella finally met Emily when they arrived in Evanston. Emily was a little shy at first, but, eventually, she hugged her and asked her if she was her Uncle Edward's girlfriend. Bella's cheeks took on that beautiful blush and she nodded yes. Emily smiled and whispered in Edward's ear that she looks like a nice princess and she ran away after saying good-bye to Amanda. He couldn't wait to tell her that she was the author of her favorite children's stories. She would never want to leave his loft. Emmett and Rose would have to drag her away.

When Isabella saw Amanda, she hugged her to within an inch of her life. Isabella's hugs were better than a whole field of strawberries. She kept telling him she wasn't really a hugger. He supposed their relationship was changing her as much as it was him because they had been able to just hold on to each other for hours and she was usually the one that initiated it. He was pretty damn happy about that.

He was also absolutely convinced Amanda was a hundred year old lady reincarnated, until she said the types of things she said in the car Saturday,

"_Manda Bear, did you already eat lunch?"_

"_Nope. Not yet, sis. Can we stop and get Kenfucky Fried Chicken?"_

_Edward's eyes got big and he started to laugh until he looked at Bella who was trying not to, so he stifled it. He managed to get out,_

"_Can you repeat that, sweetie-pie? What did you say you wanted?"_

She looked down seriously considering what she had said that caused them to act so strangely.

"_I said I want to get Kenfucky Fried Chicken, Edward. You know, Bella Boo, the place with the bucket full of good chicken and mashed potatoes."_

_Edward couldn't hold it in and he started laughing and Bella kept nudging him in the arm to make him stop. She whispered in Edward's ear that sometimes she replaces the "t"s in words with "f"s, but she can't really hear her mistake until somebody points it out to her._

"_Amanda, remember we said we were going to start calling it KFC from now on." _

"_Oh yeah! I forgot. Can we get KFC?" Isabella and Amanda were both looking at him and saying please with those eyes…the brown and the blue… that had totally taken over his heart. He was wondering how in the world he was supposed to say no to those two faces. So, of course, they walked into the loft with bags full of greasy goodness and two dozen oatmeal raisin cookies._

****DBW****

They came home and ate together, laughing and stealing food off of each other's plates. Later in the evening Edward took Amanda down to the gym because she liked to swim and there was a pool. When they came back, Isabella had cleaned up everything and had a movie out that everybody could enjoy, but mostly Amanda. They watched _Toy Story 2_ and Amanda fell asleep with her feet on Edward's lap and with her head in her sister's lap with her lovingly stroke her hair. She fell asleep before the end and Edward picked her up and carried her to bed in the guest room. They both kissed her goodnight after Edward tucked her in and they walked hand in hand back to his room to get ready for bed.

That night they lay in each other's arms and talked about all of the things they had to do the next day to be ready for Bella's day back to work. They were both exhausted and anxious for what was coming next. They held onto each other for dear life all night unsure of what the future holds.

****DBW****

That Sunday Peter showed up at the gym asking for Edward. Peter is a Pakistani man of about 5' 9", with jet black stylishly coifed and closely cropped hair, caramel- colored skin, a square jaw and big hazel-green eyes, similar to Edward's coloring. He was adopted into a family that lived in Hyde Park right next door to Ben. Ben was always a big guy, even as a freshman in high school at Kenwood Academy. People didn't really mess with him, but Peter wasn't scared of him. Ben literally ran into Peter and broke his glasses one day by accident and he said,

"Watch where you're going, you big overgrown oaf!"

Ben had never been spoken to that way and Peter was slightly shorter than him, but eighty pounds lighter than Ben at the time. Ben, being the goofball he is, started laughing and pounding poor Peter on the shoulder letting him know he liked him. He also apologized and helped him fix his glasses and they became the best of friends. Peter was picked on by a few kids around the neighborhood and he would stand up and fight, but the bullying never stopped until they saw him with Ben.

Peter always told Ben the truth as he saw it and Ben made Peter laugh. Their personalities always complimented each other. Where Peter was taciturn and had a tendency to be blunt when he did speak, Ben was gregarious and careful with people's feelings. Ben needed to hear the truth that other people wouldn't tell him sometimes and Peter needed to open up more, let people in and allow himself to have a little fun.

One day they went to a party at a club in an area they weren't familiar with in the city and gunshots broke out. Peter pulled Ben out of the way and covered his body with his own to protect him. He caught a bullet in his right leg. It went straight through, but from then on out Ben wasn't Peter's protector. It was the other way around.

Ben actually introduced Peter to Charlotte. They met and fell in love almost as quickly as Edward and Bella. They've been married for thirteen years. Peter had written science fiction his entire life causing some of the razzing he went through when he was younger. They called him a nerd and a bookworm. But, he recently landed a five book deal worth millions. They gave him an advance to tweak his stories for publishing, so he took time off from teaching to meet his deadlines. He loves teaching and he has said that he'll go back to it whether the books sell or not. The only problem was that if the books didn't sell he would have to pay back the advance…all $200,000 of it. So, when Edward offered him a generous sum that would cover his advance, if push comes to shove, to home-school Amanda; he jumped at it.

Peter smiled big when he saw Edward,

"Hey man! You're just a magnet for trouble aren't you?" Edward laughed and gave him a hug.

"Yeah, it's because of my magnetic personality."

"Nah. That's not it. It's because you're kind of an ass."

"Damn! Not you, too."

Peter laughed, "Well, I just call them like I seem them."

Peter was guided up to the loft and was introduced to Amanda and Isabella. Peter and Amanda sat and talked about what she was learning at the Christian Academy in Naperville. He told Bella after he finished speaking to Amanda that it would be his pleasure to work with her. Afterwards, he sat and spoke with them for a while and they talked about the schedule and expectations. Peter and Edward walked out together and he chuckled at Edward before he said,

"You're in deep, Edward. Those two are adorable and they adore you. Are you sure you're in this for the long haul?"

Edward stated with absolute certainty,

"I'm in this for life." Peter nodded and said,

"That's what I wanted to hear. You can count on me and when things get back to normal I expect to get an invitation to your wedding."

Edward choked on the water he was drinking.

"Pete, don't you think you've skipped a couple of steps."

He looked at Edward exasperated, "What steps? You either love them or you don't."

Edward just said quietly, "I love them."

"Good. Now, Charlotte can stop worrying about you being happy and I won't have to kick your ass for making Charlotte worry."

Edward looked at his friend, smiled and said,

"Charlotte's never going to stop worrying about me or Ben. After I get married, she's going to worry about me getting divorced, or killed in the line of duty, or that I might have infected hangnail or some shit. She's a classic mother hen."

Peter laughed and said,

"The sad part is, I know you're right."

They hugged good-bye and Peter promised to be there at 8 a.m. sharp on Monday to tutor Amanda.

****DBW****

Jasper came by to go over with Bella and Edward how they planned to do things.

"Ok. Bella you'll always leave through the gym's front door and not the underground garage. That way you'll be on a well-lit main street with traffic and, ideally, nobody will be able to get to you. Detective McNichols, Lisa, will follow you in the car and two plain clothes officers dressed as college students will follow you into the diner."

"How will I know who they are?"

Jasper pulled out two pictures with their police identification and showed her their faces.

"You should recognize them and they'll be your escorts on the way there and back. We've secured an apartment for them in the building across the street. They'll just seem like two guys that just so happen to like to hang out at the diner, do homework and drink coffee."

"Edward will already be there in the diner. When you come in, he'll go upstairs to Shirley's apartment and monitor you via surveillance."

Bella was confused, "Why is Edward leaving?"

Edward tensed up and edged closer to Isabella.

"I'm watching via surveillance because we need you to appear to be alone. His expectation is that I'm protecting you. We can't give him what he expects."

She still looked worried, but Jasper pressed on,

"Isabella, you'll be working the cash register in the pastry shop from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. You'll be there for the lunch rush because he's most likely going to come at a time when he thinks he can blend into a busy crowd. You will NEVER be alone and you will ALWAYS be watched very closely. When Edward leaves the loft to be there with you, I will come up to the loft to replace him while Peter and Amanda have school. I'll be monitoring the situation at the diner via remote and the team will be able to contact me via phone and radio."

Edward grabbed her hand,

"You won't get a break during your shift. If you have to go to the restroom, the sign is taking your apron off. I'll be able to see you via camera and I will be standing by the restroom door when you get there. I'll make sure the room is clear and come in with you. So, don't wait until you're in a rush to go to the restroom. Then you'll be doing the pee-pee dance and I'll have to laugh at you."

They all laughed and appreciated the lightening of the mood.

Jasper jumped in,

"Lisa will be in the sitting area right by the restrooms for your entire shift as well."

Bella didn't understand that part,

"I thought we were keeping Lisa out of sight in case she acts as my decoy."

"Lisa will be wearing a blond wig and sunglasses."

"I hate to be difficult, but how will I know it's her then?" Bella was trying to make sure she understood what to expect.

"The whole team will be keeping in constant contact with each other. She'll know if you blink too much because of Edward."

Edward blushed a little, but didn't seem apologetic for his protectiveness at all.

"When Lisa sees you approach her, she'll take her glasses off. Do you remember her face?" Edward asked anxiously.

Bella nodded, "How can I forget it. It's a lot like mine, unfortunately for her."

Edward knew Isabella felt guilty for getting another woman involved that might get hurt because of her coloring.

He squeezed her hand, "Baby, Lisa knows the dangers of this job. She wants to make sure you make it through this. She's a part of Jasper's team now. That means her main priority is you."

Bella nodded her understanding although the look of guilt was still on her face.

Jasper left after they finalized all of the arrangements.

****DBW****

There was a pall over the loft that night. Edward and Bella went through the business of getting Amanda fed and ready for bed. They read her a bedtime story and Amanda asked something that Bella had never heard her ask before,

"Bella, Emie prays before she goes to bed and the teacher at the school said that people believe we can talk to God that way. Emie's grandma taught her. Can we pray?"

Bella's brain froze. She had prayed before, but it was a long time ago. She would say silent prayers of thanks, but never a formal prayer.

Edward broke the silence and asked them all to join hands and bow their heads. He said the prayer his biological mother used to say with him every night,

_Now I lay me down to sleep,_  
_I pray for God my soul to keep;_  
_Or if I die before I wake,_  
_I pray for God my soul to take._

****DBW****

Edward walked into his bedroom hand in hand with Bella after they tucked Amanda in for the night. Isabella was restless and all Edward could think about was sleep. He was exhausted in every way possible…emotionally, physically and mentally.

Isabella kissed him goodnight and asked if she could use his lap top. He told her she didn't even have to ask. He just cautioned her about going into his office. He didn't want her to see those pictures of the dead women and he definitely didn't want her to see her own picture on that board.

Edward showered and threw on sleeping pants and walked back into his room to a ghostly pale-faced Isabella.

"Isabella, baby, what's wrong?"

He rushed over to her standing in place, shaking and holding an article she printed out.

"Edward, I looked up an article about the night Alice was found in that hotel. I didn't think I'd find anything because it's been over twenty years. I Googled _'infant found in hotel room with murdered woman in Chicago.' _ This is one of the articles that came up with this picture." She handed him a color print out of the article and the picture with shaky hands. The picture showed a woman with a gunshot wound to the head in Chicago's Drake Hotel, but that wasn't the part that startled him.

It was like he was looking into the cold, dead and bloody face of his Isabella. The woman was positioned the same way as the Night Stalker's victims. The gunshot wound was in the same spot. The only thing he couldn't see was the two marks on the neck. Other than that, it was like he was looking at the same crime scene he had committed to memory for every one of these women over the last eighteen months; except this woman was found in a hotel room and not dumped on the street.

He looked up at his Isabella as he backed up and sat down heavily on the bed reading the article. His hands began to shake worse than Bella's were when she handed him the article.

He pulled out his phone and called Jasper and Alistair putting them on three-way without so much as the pleasantry of a hello and he started talking,

"I think I know why Isabella is special to the Night Stalker. Alistair, I think I may be holding a picture of his first victim. If my assumption is right, his first victim's name is Heidi Brunelli. It seems like he doesn't just have a thing against brunettes. It looks like he's killing this woman in this picture over and over again. But…Isabella looks the most like her, with some very minor differences. They could be twins."

Isabella's hands were still shaking and her eyes were wide. Edward was completely overwhelmed. There were so many implications here and somehow Alice was connected to this violence.

Jasper and Alistair both said they'd be right over. Edward asked Jasper to stay on the phone as Alistair hung up.

"Jazz, man, did Alice ever tell you how she came to be adopted?"

"No, Edward." Edward could hear the uncustomary panic in Jasper's voice.

"She was the little girl found in this room. They took her to the ER where my father was on duty and mom saw her and wanted to keep her."

"Edward, I'm freaking out a little bit here and I don't freak out. She was found in a hotel room with a woman who was shot in the head and they never found her parents?"

Edward told him that his parents even put her picture on milk cartons.

"Did they find any relatives of this Brunelli woman?"

"According to this article, they couldn't even confirm that was her real name. They only knew the name she gave at the front desk. She paid with cash. They didn't find I.D. on her either. For some reason the detectives thought Alice crawled into the room from another room after she heard the noise and hid under the clothes on the floor. They probably didn't do any kind of DNA testing at that time at the scene. Do you think it's possible to do it now?"

"If there is still evidence from the scene stored with any salvageable blood on it, forensics should be able to do DNA testing and fingerprinting."

They agreed find this information out would be one of their top priorities on Monday.

"Jasper, please take or follow my sister to Naperville before you come here. Don't let her say no. She's safest there. I don't want her alone any more than I want Isabella alone….I know you love my sister, man. Please protect her." Jasper agreed enthusiastically and assured Edward that he would guard Alice with his life.

Edward pulled Isabella close to him and asked her why she looked this up.

"I don't know. I was just curious about the details of the scene. It just bothered me that she was there with no I.D. and nobody claimed her. I was wondering how she even got in there if that woman wasn't her mother." Isabella was still trembling and holding on to Edward like a lifeline.

Edward had always just accepted what Alice's story was. She came to them when she was so young he sometimes forgot she was his adopted sister and the tragedy behind his parents taking her in. It never even occurred to him to look it up. Now, two women that he loved were connected to the Night Stalker and he still wasn't clear how. He thought about the fact that there's always I.D. found on his victims, but in this case, there was no I.D. Did he take it? Since it looks like he's killing the same woman in his mind over and over again, maybe he thinks he already has their I.D. because they're all this Heidi woman.

Or, the woman could've have been running from someone? What if this was all a big coincidence and this has nothing to do with the Night Stalker? Maybe the Night Stalker was a kid at the time and witnessed the crime and now he's copycatting it. But, in his heart of hearts, he knew this was not a coincidence. Finally, it hit him like a battering ram,

'_You should've stayed in hell. I'll make sure you stay there this time.'_

He hadn't even taken Isabella by to look at her apartment where that message was written on her living room wall, yet. Everything was happening so quickly. This man thinks his Isabella is someone he has already killed incarnate.

'_People? I'm not killing people. That's your first mistake.' _ That was what he said when he called him the night of Mae Mae's birthday party.

His chest started to hurt intensely and Isabella asked him in a panicked voice what was happening to him. He didn't want to worry his baby any more than she already was, but that thought made his chest tighten even more. It sounded like she was talking to him underwater and he couldn't speak. He was short of breath and couldn't get his bearings. Then, the room went black.

****DBW****

When he woke up, he was laying in his bed surrounded by people and in a t-shirt.. Isabella was holding his hand and her head was resting on his stomach. Jacob was standing on his other side taking his pulse. Alice and Jasper were sitting in a chair next to Isabella. Of course Alice was there and not in Naperville like he asked. He growled a little and everybody turned their attention to him. Jacob scolded Edward,

"You better stop that growling, man. That's one of the reasons you're recovering from a panic attack."

He finally looked into Isabella's worried and teary eyes and mouthed that he was sorry.

"What are you sorry about, you nut? I'm just glad you didn't have a heart attack. You need a vacation."

She lovingly ran her hands over his locs.

He smiled at her and she leaned in and kissed his nose. He finally focused on Jasper and I guess his look said it all.

"Hey, she's not going anywhere without me and I don't want to hear your bullshit because you wouldn't let Bella out of your sight, either." Jasper said in a 'that's the final word' tone.

Edward actually smiled at him and Alice kissed Jasper softly on the cheek. Then she turned her attention to Edward and punched him in the arm.

"Could you be any more dramatic? I mean, take a class or two and audition for a stage play, why don't you? Emmett and Rose called after mom filled them in. They were really worried, but I told them you were being your usual theatrical self and they went back to bed."

Everyone in the room laughed, but Jacob.

"I hate to break up the comedy routine and the love fest, but this is a serious thing. Panic attacks can feel like heart attacks. Edward, you are in this bed for the rest of the night. I'm giving you a sleeping pill, whether you want one or not. I wrote a prescription out for you for Paxil…for the _last_ time. You have to find a way to relax yourself, Edward, or you're going to have a real heart attack one day, or a stroke."

Edward grimaced, but he said okay. Bella squeezed his hand and he turned his worried gaze to her. She frowned.

"Hey! What did the doctor just tell you, hard-headed? I can't' believe I'm calling Jake 'the doctor.' Get that worried look off your face. Everybody is safe, Edward. We are all just more aware than we were before of what's going on. You do what Jacob says and close those beautiful eyes, so I can see you when I walk into work in the morning."

He smiled and accepted a tight Isabella hug. He sniffed in her strawberry scented hair and felt her heart beating rapidly against his chest and agreed to do whatever he had to do to stop her from worrying about him.

"Well, buddy, when you decided to cause trouble, as is your custom, Leah wasn't home. She's actually in Forks right now visiting with her brother, Seth."

Bella's eyes widened at the mention of his name and smiled. Leah's brother was one of the most likeable people she had ever met. He was younger than she and the twins. He would follow them around, like they followed Jacob around in the summer.

"So, the dog's here sleeping on the floor under the kid's feet. You disturbed Sam's beauty sleep so he's snoring soundly and very perturbed with you, by the way. Quil and Nessie are watching _Cars _with Amanda and your friend, Alistair. Soo, it looks like you're stuck with a little company for about another hour or so."

Edward smiled at him and said it was no problem; the more the merrier. Anything that woke Amanda up must've been bad. She could sleep through anything. He really did feel like he didn't mind all of this company. He felt surrounded by love and concern. He just wished this nightmare with The Night Stalker was over already.

****DBW****

_**A/N: This is a video of Eric Benet singing "You're the Only One," with his daughter, India, a cappella on YouTube. He's one of my favorite artists. **_

_**.com/watch?v=3CQH_FHSRYc**_

_**If you want to see a picture of a gorgeous man with dred locs, here's another video of Eric Benet's. **_

_**.com/watch?v=C06YTyC2PXg**_

_**Amanda's mispronunciation of Kentucky Fried Chicken is really based on me when I was around that age. My father told me he had to leave the room because he didn't want to hurt my feelings laughing sometimes when I asked for it. I was cussing up a storm and I didn't even realize it. **__** Of course, he thought that was HILARIOUS. **_

_**Just to clarify, Edward sees a difference in a regular kiss and a smooch. When he smooches someone, he makes a loud smacking noise and he sometimes sucks on people's cheeks (that's how I see it in my head…lol. One of my cousins used to smooch people. That's where I got that from.). He's a very affectionate person and he likes hugs and kisses. I know he's a little bit of a weirdo sometimes, but Bella likes how silly and sweet he can be. **__** I hope you all like this Edward, or at least understand him.**_

_**I posted this with a little bit of excitement because two wonderful people have volunteered to be my pre-reader and my beta. So, the next chapter will hopefully, if I do my part, be much clearer in a lot of ways. **_

_**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! **_

_**My wonderful pre-reader recommended this story to me and I'm recommending it to you. It is**_** This Is Who I Am A Twilight Fanfic** by pattyrose


	15. Chapter 15

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**I want to say thanks to my fabulous, fabulous pre-reader and beta, Humble4 and Aniseed, respectively. They are helping to make these words flow. **_

Chapter 15 – Back to Work

He wasn't talking. He was breathing hard and sweating. When Edward passed out, Bella screamed,

"Oh my God, he's having a heart attack!" She was hoping that counted as a prayer because God only knows what she would do without her Edward.

He was sweating and shaking at the same time. The only thing she could think to do was put a t-shirt on him. He was already sitting up in her lap, so she managed to wriggle off the shirt that she was wearing of his and, with a great deal of difficulty, pulled his arms through it.

She didn't know what she should do. Her first instinct was to call 911 and have them come. As she was dialing it, he opened his eyes and looked directly at her and shook his head. He choked out,

"Call Jacob, please. No ambulance. Keep you safe."

Her hands were shaking badly. She thought she should ignore him, but talking to Jacob would probably be the best thing to do right now.

She searched for the number he programmed into her phone and hit the 'send' button.

After two rings he picked up,

"Bells! How's it going? I was wondering when I'd hear from you."

"Jacob, please help me, please. Edward passed out. We're at his loft over Nelson's gym. I think he's having a heart attack and he doesn't want me to call the ambulance."

"Bella, did he complain of severe pain in his right arm, chest and back, or even his neck?

"No. He was sitting here and he read this article that upset him. Then, he got this glazed over look in his eyes and he didn't look like he could breathe really well. He started sweating and he wouldn't respond to any of my questions, then he looked like he got dizzy and passed out."

"Bella, I think I know what's wrong. I've seen him for this before. Give him two aspirin for now, just in case. They act as blood thinners in case of a stroke or a heart attack, though I really don't think he's having one Bells. So, try to calm down. Just stay with him and give him those aspirin. I know he has them, because I had him buy them the last time this happened. Leah's not here, so I have to bring the kids and the dog. But, I'll be there in about 15 or 20 minutes. Hold tight, okay."

Bella felt reassured when she hung up. She heard a knock on the door and she knew who it was. Amanda opened the door and walked in.

She saw Edward laying there and her eyes widened as she gripped tightly onto her new bear Bobo.

"Bella, you screamed. What's wrong with Edward?" She had tears glistening in her eyes.

She did not want her sister to see this, but she didn't respond quickly enough to stop her from coming in.

"He's not feeling too well, Manda, but he'll be fine. He's just napping right now. Why don't you go on back to bed?"

The tears overflowed from Amanda's eyes and she said, "I don't want to go back to sleep until Edward stops napping."

She knew Amanda knew that something was really wrong. She beckoned her over and wiped the tears from her eyes and kissed her forehead, "Why don't you go on downstairs and watch _Cars_. Remember I showed you how to turn it on? We're going to have a little company in a while, then, when Edward feels better, I'll tuck you back in."

She looked at Edward for a few seconds and nodded her head. She laid Bobo on his chest and backed out of the room.

Bella eased his head gently off her lap and went to put on another shirt. She grabbed the glass he keeps in the bathroom and filled it with water and grabbed the aspirin she found in his medicine cabinet. She hurried back into the room.

"Here, sweetie. Jacob will be here in a little while. Can you sit up and take these?" He was still not responding. However, she could see he was breathing heavily and he was still sweating.

She eased herself under him by pushing up his shoulders and easing her knee underneath until she could sit him up. He was not light. He was a solid two hundred pounds and all muscle. She was heaving and pushing, but she finally got his head up and her legs under his shoulders. She pinched his nose until his mouth opened and she dropped in two aspirin.

He coughed and sat up a little. He turned sleepy hooded eyes towards her and she picked up the glass and bought it to his lips. He opened up and took a few swallows. A few seconds later he blacked out again.

She called Jasper to tell him what was happening and he said he was only ten minutes away with Alice. It had been twenty minutes since he blacked out and she didn't know what to do. She couldn't leave him and go let Jacob and his brood in. Suddenly, her cell phone rang and she picked it up right away.

"Bella! It's Alice. We're here and Jacob is coming up with us. I have a key. I'll let us in."

She breathed a sigh of relief and waited for everyone to arrive. Three minutes later she heard a commotion downstairs and, within a few seconds, Jacob walked into the room with his medical bag. Jasper and Alice were right behind him. Jacob lifted Edward easily from Bella's lap and slid him up the bed. Bella moved and pulled a chair up to the side of the bed where she could reach him best.

Jacob checked his pulse and opened his eyes to look for whatever it is that doctor's look for with a pen light and he took his blood pressure. He told everyone he was not having a heart attack, but he kept monitoring his pulse until Edward woke up.

When he opened his eyes everyone was relieved; especially Bella. He started to breathe normally again and when everyone saw he was okay, they left Bella and Edward alone.

"Why do I smell like strawberries? Were you doing something kinky to me while I was passed out? Bella rolled her eyes at him.

"For Pete's sake! How can you joke right now? I took the shirt I was wearing off and put it on you because you were shivering and I was a basket case and I didn't know what else to do." She was fuming but she was straddling him in the bed, laying on his chest and hugging him for dear life.

He ran his hands through her hair and apologized over and over again. She put her ear to his chest and listened to the steadiness of his heartbeat.

"Isabella, I am so sorry. I had been feeling anxious all day, but when I saw that picture…It was like I was looking at your corpse." He winced at his choice of words and apologized again.

She put her hand over his mouth.

"Will you stop apologizing? I know it was scary seeing that picture - I understand your reaction. But, I need you to listen to me and listen good because I'm not going to keep repeating myself; you are one of the three reasons why my life has any meaning. One is downstairs on your couch watching _Cars_ with Jacob's kids, and the other is in Seattle with your cousin. If you don't start trying to relax yourself and calm down so this kind of shit doesn't happen again, you're gonna have another reason to panic because I'm going to kick your ass. Do you understand me?"

He smiled at the little person that just threatened him and said,

"Our couch."

Bella look up at him and searched his eyes, "What?"

"You said that Amanda was downstairs watching _Cars_ on my couch. It's our couch. Everything I have is yours now."

Bella's bottom lip started trembling and she kissed him on his mouth and his forehead.

"See! I can't even stay mad at you because you say all this sweet crap and now I can't even remember what I said."

He molded his hand to her cheek, "I can tell you. You said you would kick my ass if I don't try to calm myself down before I have another panic attack. You said I'm one of the reasons your life has any meaning." He smiled big. "I heard you."

She tucked her head under his chin and they stayed that way for a while until Edward asked,

"Why do I have Bobo?"

"Amanda gave him to you. I guess she was trying to help you feel better."

He smiled and picked up his childhood toy.

"Bobo saved my life, Isabella. We should make him a purple heart before we give him back to Amanda."

She laughed at him and shook her head.

"You are so damn silly. Your life wasn't in danger. Go to sleep. We have to get up early. I'm gonna go down and see everybody off."

He puckered up his lips and closed his eyes. She looked at her big baby, laughed and gave him a sweet closed mouth kiss.

"Do you think I'm less of a stud now because I passed out and you had to save me?"

"It's my job to save you now. I think you have the best and biggest heart in this whole world and we're going to get through this because we both deserve to be happy. That's what I think. But, to answer your question, you will always be my stud, no matter what happens."

He grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"I hope you're right, puddin'."

She hugged him hard,

"I know I am." He squeezed her hand.

Just as she was about to leave the room, Jacob came back in.

****DBW****

"Hey, Bells. Can I talk to this guy alone for a minute?

Bella nodded and walked out to give them their privacy.

He took Edward's pulse and blood pressure again and looked into his eyes with the pen light.

"Are you having any severe pains anywhere?" Jacob waited eagerly for his answer.

"Yeah. I have one right in the right butt cheek of my ass. Please stop hovering over me, so I can breathe." Jacob rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Cullen, between you and Bella this is becoming a bad habit. Am I gonna have to start charging you for home visits?"

"You mean you haven't charged me already?"

"Nah. I couldn't bring myself to charge a woman that passes out at the sight of blood and a wuss that can't take a little serial killer stalking his woman and family. I felt sorry for you. You're kind of a pansy." Jacob looked at him feigning disgust.

"If you hadn't drugged me and I wasn't half asleep right now, I'd kick your ass for that little comment." They both laughed and gave each other a pound.

"Hey, Jake, man. Thanks for always being there when we call. In all seriousness, I owe you big time."

Jake smiled at him and said, "Your father is one of the best men I know and he raised a pretty good kid in you, so I don't mind. You can call me anytime and I'll come running. Plus, our little Swan seems to be smitten with you. I don't know why. You're kind of funny-looking. But, I guess love is blind. How long have you two been together?"

Edward flinched at the question because he still thought of himself as kind of loony for being in so deep with Isabella so fast, "Uhmm, five days, give or take a day and, in regards to the funny-looking comment, yo' mama."

Jacob looked at him for a full minute without blinking. Edward knew this because he was watching the second hand on his wall clock.

"Five days?"

Edward nodded but, he wasn't offended at his surprise. See, this was the reaction he expected from people. This was the first normal reaction he had gotten from anyone.

"Well, damn! Why don't you stop stringing her along? Five days? You guys seem like you've been together forever."

"It feels like I've known her my whole life."

"I've known Bells her whole life, well mostly, and she's always been a cautious person. She doesn't jump into anything. Well, once she jumped off a cliff with us, but that's because I dared her and her father wanted to shoot me afterwards. So, she must really love you, kid. You better not break her heart."

Edward looked at him with all the seriousness in his body, "I would never break her heart. That would kill me."

Jacob nodded at him satisfied with his answer and started packing up his bag.

"So, what are we going to do about this panicking thing, Edward? Obviously, you are not going to a therapist, like I suggested. How are you planning on dealing with your stress and anxiety? Paxil will suppress your anxiety, but it won't make it go away or control it for you."

"I've been kind of slacking off on my workouts lately. I'm going to get back into a routine with my boxing and start swimming again. That really helps me. Plus, having my Isabella around actually reduces stress for me when I'm not talking or thinking about protecting her from the Night Stalker. So, my plan is to try to treat myself better in a lot of ways. I want to be around for a long time for my two ladies. I also think it's time for me to consider talking to somebody again. But, I'm not quite ready, just yet."

Jacob smiled big at him. "I'm glad she met you and when you get ready, I can suggest somebody for you."

"Jake, let me ask you a question."

"Shoot."

"Why did you lose contact with Isabella? You seem very important to each other."

"Well, she was really my sisters' friend, but she was like a baby sister to me. She was the cutest little thing. She and my sisters wanted to do everything I did with my friends. I loved her…love her…very much." Edward nodded because he could completely understand that sentiment.

"When her father died the way he did, I was devastated. He was like a father to me, too. He and my dad were best friends. But, I was already pre-med at Northwestern. I came home for the funeral, but I had to leave back out immediately. School and work took over my life. I rarely came home. Then, when my father got really sick from his diabetes, I was in med school. The twins took over his everyday care. They didn't have time for anything else, but school, work, and taking care of dad. I was working, going to school full-time and flying home on the weekends to help take care of my father. I didn't have time for anything else and Bella had already moved to Phoenix. When my dad died, I didn't even have her number to tell her about the funeral. I didn't even know Renee remarried. I was looking for Swan on the internet and in the phone book. My dad was like a father to her, too, but Renee didn't really care for us. She told us they were moving to Phoenix, but didn't leave any contact information. So, we lost touch. I'll regret it forever. But, that's how it happened."

Edward reached out and bumped his fist on Jacob's knee lightly to let him know he understood.

"I'm so glad she found you, Edward. It's like the God's worked through you to put her back in touch with us. I told Rebecca and Rachel that I found Bella and they're coming out here this weekend to see her. They're really excited. I don't want to tell her because it's a surprise. So, you keep our Swan safe so my sisters can see her again."

Edward smiled big at Jake, but he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore.

"I will definitely keep her safe and I'm glad she found you again too, man. But, since you slipped me a mickey, I have to go to sleep now. Please don't molest me. I'm really not worth it and what would Leah think?"

Jacob laughed outright, "You are such an ass, Edward."

"If I had a dollar for every time somebody called me that today, I could buy a Whopper Value Meal with the large drink."

"You are truly twisted, man. Get some sleep."

Jacob sat there for a little while longer until Edward gave in to sleep before pulling the covers over him, and went down to talk to Bella.

****DBW***

When Jacob came downstairs, Bella was involved in what looked like a deep conversation with Alistair. Jasper and Alice were gone and the kids were asleep on the couch with their feet on the dog. Sam was a golden retriever and he guarded Jacob's kids like they were his own.

When Alistair saw Jacob enter the room, he stood up to leave.

"Well, I guess we're not going to get much done tonight since Edward is knocked out. He needs the rest. I'll just talk to him tomorrow. We'll have plenty of opportunity to."

He shook Jacob's hand and kissed Bella's cheek as he exited through the stairwell.

Jacob and Bella saw him out before they settled in at the kitchen island. Bella looked at Jacob with worried eyes,

"How's he doing? Will he be able to work tomorrow? I don't have to go back to work tomorrow. I can go back on Tuesday."

Jacob reached out and patted her hand, "He's fine. He's just very emotional and passionate. He gets riled up about people he really cares about…loves. You are obviously very important to him, Bells."

"Well, the feeling is entirely mutual." Jacob smiled his huge bright little boy smile at Bella that reminded her of the young Jacob she grew up with.

"Bells, I wish I would've known you were in Chicago. But, I'm glad I know you're here now. Did you meet the kids?"

She beamed up at him and said, "Is it possible for Quil to look any more like you? Nessie is gorgeous. Of course she takes after Leah, you…not so much."

He laughed loudly at her, "You've been around Edward too much."

She laughed and shrugged, "Is Nessie short for anything?"

"Yeah, it's shorts for Vanessa…Vanessa Isabella Black."

Bella's mouth fell open, "What?"

"We missed you every day, Bells. Our lives became so hectic that trying to find you moved further down on our list of priorities . But, when Vanessa was born, Leah thought that Nessie's hair was a lot like yours. So, she gave her your name as a middle name."

Bella didn't think it was possible to go through so many emotional states in a matter of seconds. She went from happy to honored; from honored to sad she wasn't there when she was born; and from sad to proud of her friends and nostalgic for the past.

"Jacob, I don't know what to say. Thank you and Leah so much. It is such an honor for her to have my name." She jumped up and hugged her old friend.

Jacob chuckled, "I don't remember you being such a hugger, Bells." He hugged her back strongly, though.

"I wasn't until I met this family. I've had more hugs and kisses in the last week than I had my whole life. You know my dad wasn't very emotional or tactile and my mother was…well, she was in her own little world."

Jacob looked down and nodded, "Yeah, I remember. How is your mom, Bells?"

"She died. It's been almost six years now. Oh my goodness! I almost forgot with all of this stuff going on. Amanda's birthday is this Friday, August 13. That's also the date my mom died."

Jacob's eyes got big, "Bells, I'm so sorry. Renee never liked us, for some reason, but I liked her. Was she sick; was it an accident…what happened?"

"She had a malignant neuroblastoma that was inoperable. I think she felt that you guys took away any of the little time she had with Charlie. She didn't like hanging out on the rez and she wanted to go into the city, or do something she felt was more exciting."

"Well, I can see that being a problem. I think she had a little misplaced anger, though. So, she was pregnant when she found out about the brain cancer?" Bella nodded.

"Damn! That's rough, Bells. Did she carry to term or did they have to do a C-Section?"

"C-Section. She was on life support so that Amanda could stay in the womb for as long as safely possible. She tried to make all of her wishes known before she lost complete control of her body. She couldn't write or speak by the time she was put on life support."

Jacob reached out and squeezed Bella's hand.

"Amanda will be okay. Look how well Rebecca and Rachel turned out even though mom passed after she gave birth to them. We're going to have three doctors in the family." He beamed proudly. "So, she's your step-father's daughter? Why do you have her? What happened to him?"

"He was pretty young and grieving my mom. He blamed Amanda for her death. It was pretty irrational, but she had to be taken care of, so I took her and eventually, I adopted her. He gave up his parental rights."

"What's this idiot's name?" Jacob was fuming.

"His name is Phil…Phil Dwyer."

"That's weird. He has the same name as the baseball guy. I'm a big fan of his, but that guy is married with two kids."

Bella looked down and didn't say anything. She watched Jacob's face and when he finally put two and two together in his brain he looked up at Bella.

"That's not the Phil Dwyer you're talking about is it?

Bella nodded.

"What the fuck, Bells? He's supposed to be this wholesome family guy and he's letting his step-daughter take care of his oldest?"

"He was only twenty-five, Jacob."

"And? You were only what…nineteen or twenty?"

"Yeah, but I lost my mom, which is the natural order of things. He lost his wife. I think that might be a little more devastating."

He pounded his fist on the island and Bella jumped.

"You've always done that, Bells. You've always made excuses for people and taken up their slack. You did that with your mom too. Ironically, you still are."

"Don't say that, Jacob. She did everything in her power to make sure Amanda was okay. She made sure the cancer didn't metastasize. She found an experimental program to keep her alive long enough for her to be born healthy. She loved Amanda. I'm raising her, but she's not slack that needs to be picked up. She's my blood, Jake."

Jacob looked down contrite, "I'm sorry. I just don't think it's very fair to you. I mean, you finally meet a good guy that loves you and you're already raising somebody else's kid. Some men wouldn't want that in their lives. Edward is a good man, Bella. I couldn't have designed a better guy for you."

Bella smiled and nodded in agreement.

"How's Billy, Jacob? Is he still fishing every Saturday and Sunday morning?"

"My dad passed away, Bells. It was about two years after you moved away. I didn't know how to get in touch with you. I'm so sorry. You know he had diabetes. It just got worse and worse and finally he had a stroke and died in his sleep."

Bella had her hand over her mouth and was crying silent tears.

"I am so sorry, Jacob - I'm sorry I wasn't there. I should've tried harder to let you guys know where I was. I was dealing with my own stuff with my mom and dad. I think I went through a pretty severe depression. I wasn't even talking much until I met my friend, Angela. The twins must hate me."

Jacob smiled at her and said, "You were there. Your spirit is with us all of the time. You know you're an honorary Quileute. That doesn't change with distance and the twins adore you." Bella was still crying and Jacob held her hand until she quieted down.

"So, you're the target of this guy that's been killing girls around Chicago . How the hell did he single you out in a city this big?"

"Apparently, I look a lot like someone he killed a long time ago, or saw killed…who knows. According to Edward, he thinks I'm that woman incarnate or something. He's fixated on Edward for some reason. I guess while he was stalking his family he saw me. But, I really don't know for sure, Jake."

"Bella, I'm not trying to make light of this situation because it might be the most serious situation that I've come across that's not a medical emergency, but only you could come to a city as large as Chicago and attract a serial killer by getting involved with the detective that's trying to catch him. You and Edward together might bring on the Apocalypse. You are both trouble magnets."

Bella chuckled, "Well, maybe we had to be some kind of magnet to attract each other."

He smiled at her shaking his head and ruffled her hair.

They sat and chatted for a while and then he said he had to get the kids home so they could go to school in the morning. Bella helped him rouse Quil and Nessie. He picked up Nessie and Quil grabbed Sam's leash and followed his father. They left with Bella promising to keep in touch with them.

****DBW****

Bella carried a sleeping Amanda back upstairs. She tucked into the full size bed in the guest room and put Davie right next to her. As she got up to leave, Amanda woke up.

"Bella?"

"Yeah, Manda Bear?"

"Is Edward okay? Did Bobo and the nice big man help him?"

Bella walked back over to sit next to her sister on the bed,

"Edward is fine. Bobo helped a lot and the nice big man's name is Jacob. He's a very good friend of mine from when I was your age."

"I like him. He's nice and Quil and Nessie are nice, too. I like Sam. Can we have a dog?" Bella was chuckling at her sister.

"Well, when we get back in our own place, we'll see."

Amanda frowned and sat up a little, "Why can't we stay with Edward. He said we can stay forever, if it's okay with you."

Bella was speechless. Edward had told her that everything that's his is hers and she felt the same about him. But, for some reason she hadn't thought about staying there forever. She didn't even know if Edward would want that so soon, despite what Amanda was telling her.

"We'll see, Manda. Grown-ups have to really discuss these types of things before they decide to move in together. For now, this is temporary."

Amanda frowned and nodded.

"Sis, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, anything."

"Well, when I was over Emie's house, she called Emmett 'dad' and when Quil and Nessie were here, they called Jacob 'dad.' It seems to me that dad's are men that take care of you and love your mommy."

Bella nodded, but she didn't really know where this was going.

"Well, you're not my mommy, but you take care of me like a mommy does and Edward takes care of you and me like the other daddies do. So, can I call Edward 'daddy?'"

All the air was sucked out of her body. She didn't know what to say. She didn't want to say no because she didn't want to break her heart. She was floored that Amanda wanted to call Edward 'daddy.'

"Uhmmm…I don't know. Maybe…maybe you can ask him." Bella felt like a moron. She was not handling this well. She closed her eyes at the complication of her situation.

"Okay. I will. Goodnight, Bella Boo. I love you." She puckered her lips for a kiss and Bella obliged.

The night was exhausting, to say the least, in every way possible. All she could do was take a quick shower and drag herself to bed in yoga pants and a t-shirt. She snuggled next to Edward and kissed him over his heart. She laid her head in the crook of his shoulder and went to sleep. It was 1 in the a.m., already Monday, and she had to be up in a few hours to get ready for work and get Amanda up and ready for Peter's school time with her.

****DBW****

Bella's phone alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. She rolled over to shut it off, expecting to feel Edward's heat next to her, but she didn't. She leaped up in a panic. She went and checked in the bathroom and she flew down the stairs to see if he was there. As she approached the kitchen, she heard two voices talking and laughing.

Edward and Amanda were eating breakfast and debating about who was the better monster from Sesame Street, Elmo or Grover. Amanda was on the Elmo side and Edward was trying to convince her of Grover's charms. She didn't look like she could be moved.

Bella interrupted the debate by grabbing a plate and helping herself to some breakfast and juice.

When they saw her they both piped up cheerfully,

"Good morning!"

"We didn't mean to wake you, baby. You don't have to be up until later, right?" Edward asked a little concerned.

She walked over to him and kissed his nose softly, hugged Amanda and sat across from them in one of the kitchen stools.

"I got up to help get Manda Bear get ready for her school time with Peter."

"Bella, Edward said I don't even have to put on school clothes. He said I could wear my jammies."

Edward laughed and Bella playfully frowned at him.

"I think Edward may have jumped the gun on that. You do have to get dressed for the day. Just because you're not leaving the house doesn't mean you don't have to get dressed, young lady. If you're finished eating, take your plate to the sink and go upstairs and pick out an outfit from what Alice bought you. I'll be up in a few minutes to look at your choice okay?"

"Oooookaaaay. See, Edward. I told you she wouldn't like that idea."

Edward laughed and shrugged, "I guess your sister doesn't understand why it's fun to be home-schooled." He pinched her nose and winked at Bella.

Amanda jumped up and climbed in Edward's lap. She gave him a cheek smooch and said,

"Thanks for breakfast, daddy." She jumped down and ran up the stairs.

Edward sat completely still with his hand in mid-air holding a piece of bacon. He stared after her for a few minutes before he put his hand down. He turned to look at Bella with wide eyes. She was completely panicked on the inside, but she was waiting to see what he said.

"Isabella, did Amanda just call me daddy?"

Bella nodded and sucked her bottom lip into her mouth.

His eyes welled up and a tear fell down his cheek.

"Is that okay with you? I don't mind at all. I mean, if you don't want her to, I can say something, but I don't mind."

She jumped out of her stool; much like Amanda had done earlier, and climbed onto his lap to wipe his tear.

He looked completely embarrassed.

"I'm such a punk lately. I mean, how many times are you going to see me cry and pass out before you push me away in disgust?"

She locked eyes with him, "You are NOT a punk because you cry and I don't mind if Amanda calls you daddy, if you don't. The passing out thing has to stop, but I'm not disgusted by it. But, her calling you daddy has a lot of implications and I don't want her to get used to it, if our situation is not permanent."

He kissed her with so much force her back was pushed against the kitchen island.

"I want this situation to be permanent. I have never wanted anything more in my life. Let's just take one day at a time, okay, and get through this mess first. We don't have to make a big deal out of Amanda calling me daddy. Whatever she calls me, I'll answer to."

Bella hugged him so tightly he had to remind her that he had to breathe. They kissed and hugged and he started humming the lullaby he was almost done with. Then they heard little feet come in the room,

"Awww, man! I don't want to see grown people smooching. Yuck!" She was gagging when she ran out of the room.

Edward laughed so hard he almost dropped Bella off of his lap.

"She's already starting to act like me." Bella smiled and joked,

"Oh no! We have to nip that in the bud." He laughed and she kissed and hugged him one more time.

****DBW****

Edward left at eight when Jasper and Peter walked in. Bella had made a make-shift school room out of the kitchen, complete with a stand-alone chalk board that was in Emily's room. She had gotten Amanda dressed and ready for school just as she would if she were leaving for the day. She didn't want her to develop any bad habits that would be hard for her to break once she got back out to her regular school day.

When Peter came in, he smiled big.

"Well, it looks like somebody is ready to learn."

"Good morning, Peter." Bella and Amanda both chimed.

"Good morning, ladies."

Bella excused herself so she could make a few calls and get ready for her day.

The first call she made was to Seattle,

"Hello." A groggy Angela picked up the phone on the third ring. It was 6 a.m. there and Bella knew she was going to be grumpy.

"Good morning, Ang. I just wanted to touch base with you and see how you were doing."

She heard grumbling and fumbling in the background. She heard a deep voice ask who it was and Angela came back on the phone,

"Isabella Marie Swan, it is 6 o'clock in the morning. Who touches base at this time of morning? What's wrong?"

Bella chuckled to herself, "Nothing's wrong. I just had a little spare time and I thought I'd call to talk to one of my favorite people in the world."

She heard Angela grumble and curse again, "Now you're making me feel guilty. I'm up. I'm up. So, what's new? Did they catch this guy yet?"

"Nope. We're still working on it."

"We? Bella, you worry me with that pronoun. You're not trying to be a superhero again are you?"

Bella smiled, "Well, apparently, I'm Wonder Woman. But, don't tell Ben because then he'd have to be destroyed. How's he doing?"

"Uhmm…He's doing fine." Then she heard Angela's voice get muffled, as though she had covered the mouthpiece, followed by a loud male voice that said in the background,

"Hi, princess! I hope everything's okay in the Chi and tell my big head cousin that he could pick up the phone and call me, if only for a few seconds."

Bella laughed and thought about the fact that he must've been sleeping with or very near Angela to hear their conversation.

Angela got back on the phone with a timid voice, "Did you hear him?"

"Mmmmm hmmmm, I heard him. Sooo, Ang, what's going on with you two? If I recall correctly, I have three bedrooms in that house."

There was a little bit of a silence, "Uhhhh, wellll…."

"Angela Weber, are you speechless? I thought I'd never see the day."

"About that…it's Angela Nelson now."

Bella looked at her phone like it had malfunctioned. She turned up the volume and then she said,

"Come again?"

"It's Angela Nelson now. We were married two days ago in Vegas."

Bella's head was literally spinning, "You were married two days ago in Vegas."

"Yeah, we decided that we loved each other and what's the point in waiting to get married. We could have a ceremony and everything when we get home."

"You decided you loved each other and what's the point in waiting to get married?"

"Bella, could you please stop repeating everything I say and talk to me?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm in shock. You're married?"

"Yes."

"To Ben."

"Yes."

"Benjamin Nelson, Edward's cousin?"

Angela sighed heavily.

"Bella, please stop."

Bella shook her head, "But, you don't even know anything about him. Do you even know his middle name?" She was really having this debate with herself in regards to Edward because Angela was already married. It was a moot point.

"It's Richard, like his father. Bella, all we've done is talk…well, mostly. When he first took me away, I was living with his mother. I adore that woman! Anyway, all we did for a week straight was sit up every night and talk about everything. He took a leave from his job to come here with me. He loves me Bella, and I love him back. I know it's crazy and too soon, but it is what it is."

Bella could completely relate and had a sense of déjà vu, "Does Iris know?"

"She knows. My mom loves Ben! She met him the day he told her what was going on and took me away. She calls him a big teddy bear."

Bella was trying her best to digest things. Her best friend is married. That didn't sound so strange when she repeated it in her head a few times. She finally said,

"Congratulations, Angela Nelson! I can't believe you're married and I wasn't there."

"I know. I know. But, I'm going to have a wedding soon. You will be there front and center."

She could just imagine her beautiful friend with a 100-watt grin on her face, in a white flowing gown, walking down the aisle towards Ben's big brown hound dog eyes, in a tuxedo, and flashing his Colgate smile.

She wasn't in shock anymore. In fact, she was envisioning herself in a midnight blue maid of honor gown looking to the immediate left of Ben and seeing Edward in a similarly styled tuxedo as his cousin beaming at her with his verdant eyes twinkling. She was very happy for her friend.

"You know I'll be there, front and center at your late evening wedding, since you can't seem to get up in the mornings." Angela laughed softly.

"So, what's going on with your job?"

"I called them and told them what was going on and they said to take all the time I need. You know I've been working there for five years and they like my work. So, they want me to call them when I get back to Chicago."

"Well, I guess that's that. You're a married woman now." She smiled into the phone.

"So, how's Amanda, Bella? I miss her to death. Is she in school, or is she being home-schooled?"

"She's great. Your husband's best friend is home-schooling her as we speak."

"He is? That's great! How's his book editing coming along?"

Bella was surprised she knew about that. But, nothing should have surprised her at this point,

"I don't know. I'll ask him today."

"Bella, you really should talk to him about it. You two have so much in common. You could probably hook him up with your agent."

"I didn't think of that. I think I will tell Embry about Peter. He printed out some of one of his stories for me to read. I've only read a few chapters and I already think it's brilliant. I can't wait to read the finished book. Guess what, Ang?"

"What?"

"Amanda called Edward daddy today."

The other end became quiet.

"How do you feel about that?"

"I don't know. I feel a little scared because I don't know how things are going to turn out."

Angela scoffed, "That man loves you, Bella. As long as he's breathing, he'll be right by your side. I saw his face when Ben told him about the apartment. He went into protection mode for you, me and Amanda. He's a keeper, chica. Do you feel the same for him?"

"It's scary, Ang. He's so complicated, talented, and faithful to the people he loves. His heart is just…he loves so hard it can be a little overwhelming for the people involved. But, it comes from such a good place, you can't help but adore him. You should see him with Amanda and how she's taken to him. Yes, I definitely feel the same for him. I love him. I love him very much."

She could hear Angela happily sigh into the phone,

"Well, I guess it's okay for Amanda to call him daddy then, because I know one thing for sure about Isabella Swan; when she loves, it's forever."

Bella smiled, "I love you Angela Nelson."

"I love you too, Isabella Swan."

"So, you're not going to hyphenate?"

"Nope. I'm his. I want his name."

Bella smiled big.

"I wish I could talk to you longer, but I have to make one more call before I get ready for work."

"That's okay. We can talk again soon. Hey, be careful at work, Bella. You're the only best friend I have."

Bella's eyes welled up with tears.

"Okay. I will be. Let me talk to Ben."

There was a slight pause and a bellowing voice came on the line,

"Hello there, little princess."

She smiled and shook her head, "Hey, Mr. Nelson. I guess you're as much of a smooth-talker as your grandmother said. Congratulations!"

He chuckled, "Thanks, Bella. I'm sorry you weren't there. We just acted on an impulse, you know?"

"Yeah, I know about impulses, Ben." She smiled thinking about all of her uncharacteristic behavior with Edward.

"Look, I can't stay on the phone for long, but know this, I like you and everything, but if you hurt my Angela, I will hunt you down and make you pay, comprende?"

He laughed, "Yes, ma'am."

"Good. I'll talk to you two soon okay."

"Alright, little lady. Tell everybody we love them."

"Okay. Will do and tell Ang I'll talk to her later."

They hung up and Bella sat there looking at her cell phone with astonishment for a minute before she made her next call.

"Embry Call's office. How can I help you?"

"Hi, Justine, it's Bella."

"Oh, hey Bella. How're you doing there in _The Windy City_?"

"I'm good, Justine. I'm real good. Is Embry available, or should I call back?"

"Call back? Embry would kill me if he knew I had you on the phone and didn't put you through. Hold one minute, please."

There was a brief pause.

"Bella Swan! How are you, my dear? I was just looking over the new series and it looks great, hon. The publisher thinks this'll be as big as, or bigger than the _King David Chronicles_."

Bella smiled and nodded.

"That's good. I hope it does well for everybody's sake. Listen, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to talk to you about a program called _Clean Slate_ that I'm acquainted with in Chicago."

"Okay. What did you want to talk about?"

"I want fifteen percent of gross revenue from all book sales and merchandizing to go to the program annually for the next two years starting in 2011. We'll review things again after the two years are up."

"What? Fifteen percent? Isn't that kind of steep? Why?"

"I'm worth more money than I'll ever know what to do with and this program is very important to someone I love which makes it important to me. I want you to make this happen. Please, get together with Jenks and get some paperwork drawn up. Also, I'd like you to get some buzz going about the program, while maintaining my anonymity, of course. Maybe you can contact one of your online news site friends. It's an excellent program, Embry. They've helped a lot of kids get on the right track. I'll send you all of the information.

"You're the boss. Who do we contact at _Clean Slate_?"

"You can contact the Controller and CFO, Carmen Nelson, at Masen, Inc. I'll send you a list of officers for the corporation before the end of the day, in case you can't get a hold of her. She should be able to direct you, though."

"Okay. I'll get to work on that today. Anything else?"

"Yeah, I know somebody who you may want to sign as a client. His name is Peter Williams and he's a sci-fi writer who just landed a big book deal with Random House. You may want to catch him now before he's published and other agents are banging down his door. I'll give him your number after I talk to him today."

Embry said thanks after they exchanged pleasantries about family and caught up a little. They hung up and Bella jumped in the shower to get ready for the day, all the while daydreaming about weddings and Edward in a tuxedo smiling down at her with his twinkling hazel-green eyes.

****DBW****

Bella was ready to go by 9:15 a.m. She was wearing her familiar hoodie with her _Shirley's Kitchen_ t-shirt and her work jeans with comfortable shoes. She felt like herself.

When she walked down to the first floor, Jasper was sitting in the living area with a lap top staring intently at the screen.

"Hey, Jazz. What's going on?"

"Hey, Bella. We're just getting set up for your arrival and making sure we can communicate with each other and see everything. You're ready kind of early. I thought you weren't leaving until a quarter to?"

"I wanted to get there a little earlier than that to review how to work the cash register. Is that okay?"

"Well, let me see."

He picked up his cell, made a few calls, asked a few questions and barked a few orders.

He hung up and said,

"You're all set. Two young men should be following you like your shadow when you leave. Lisa will see you when you come out and follow you in an unmarked police car. I'll call Edward and give him a heads up. You should be fine."

"Alright then, I'm on my way." Bella was suddenly extremely nervous. She had already said good-bye to Amanda and there was nothing else preventing her from leaving the safety of Edward's loft."

Jasper put his hand on her shoulder and all the turmoil quelled,

"Take these. These are all of the codes for Edward's place. Here are the keys to the front door and to his loft. He wanted you to have them. He said it's for your safety. I think it's so you won't ever leave." He winked at Bella and she laughed. Jasper always knew how to calm her down.

"Okay, I'll walk you down. The gym is open and Enrique is there. He's looking out for you, too. You won't be alone. "

Bella nodded and started towards the door to start her day.

When she safely arrived at the restaurant followed by two flip-flop, hoodie, and back-pack wearing undercover officers, she finally let out a breath. That was the longest ten minute walk of her life. She felt like everyone was watching her and everyone was out to get her. She knew she had to calm herself down and remind herself that this neighborhood is home. Edward only lived five minutes away from her on foot. She had passed by his place every day and wasn't aware that the love of her life lived there a little over a week ago.

Charlotte ran up and gave her a big hug. Everyone else smiled and nodded. They seemed really happy to see her. She went to get her notes about working the cash register that she had in her locker and when she came back out Edward was just walking away. She wanted to call out to him, but she didn't. She calmed herself.

She waited while the cashier she was replacing printed out her reports and took her cash register. Charlotte brought out a new drawer and patted her shoulder. She leaned in and whispered,

"Everything will be fine. We're all looking out for you. This is my last week, but you know you're in my life forever because Edward loves you, right?" Bella smiled and tried to prevent herself from tearing up. Every time someone else said that to her it made her emotional. Charlotte winked at Bella and walked away.

The day started out going very smoothly. Shirley wasn't there and Charlotte was managing with Mike as the assistant manager in the diner.

When noon hit, it was like the tide shifted and everyone flooded into Shirley's. Charlotte opened up another register so they could get through the customer line more quickly. As a lady left with her large coffee and cherry strudel, a man walked up to the cash register,

"Hello, Bella. Can I get a large coffee with two creams and one sugar, a blueberry muffin and an orange juice?"

Bella looked up into the face of a blue-eyed blonde man with a long pony tail. He smirked at her and she froze. His look was very similar to the delivery man from a week ago. He spoke up again,

"Is everything okay? Did you need me to repeat the order?"

Her heart was beating hard against her ribs and her breathing picked up. She shook her head no, punched in the order and gave him the price.

"That's not too bad, Bella. I thought it would be more."

"How do you know my name?"

He gave her a confused look, but with that same smirk on his face, "It's on your name tag."

That explanation should have made her feel more at ease, but it only made her more nervous and she couldn't really figure out why. It wasn't rational.

He leaned forward on the counter and said,

"Do I know you, Bella?" His smirk turned into a leer, in her mind, and his stare was unwavering.

Bella backed up from the register and snatched off her apron.

"I don't think so." She managed to get out.

"You look so familiar to me. How long have you worked here?"

"Not long. Listen, can you stand over there to the side to wait for your order. We're busy today and we have a long line."

He kept staring at her and he didn't move.

Suddenly, Edward and Jasper were standing on either side of him. Edward said through a scowl,

"Is there a problem, sir? I believe the lady asked you to move along so she can help other customers."

He looked at both of them with the same weird smirk on his face from earlier.

"Wow! This place has line security? Haven't you ever tried to flirt with a cute girl? Why don't you tell _me_ if there's a problem?"

Edward moved his shirt aside where a person could clearly see his badge and gun.

"Sir, can you please step out of line. I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Jasper was standing like he was ready to pounce, as well. The two young men that followed Bella in had turned causally towards the interaction, as well and placed their bags at their feet with the zipper open.

"I'm being arrested for standing in one place too long?" He was getting belligerent and his smirk was turning into a scowl.

"No. You're not under arrest. I just want to ask you a few questions. I'm Detective Cullen and I work for the Chicago Police. Can you please follow me?" Bella could see he was trying to be calm.

Edward stepped aside allowing him to pass.

He walked up to Edward and poked him in the chest,

"If I'm not under arrest, you can step the fuck off. I haven't committed any crimes here."

Edward reached out quickly and twisted his arm behind his back slamming him into the pastry shop counter and had him handcuffed within a three second span.

"You just did. You put your hands on me. That's battery of a police officer, it's a felony, and you're under arrest."

Jasper grabbed him and mirandized him as he was escorting him out of the restaurant. The guy was screaming about excessive force and you could hear a pin drop in the restaurant. Edward was furious and we he turned to look at Bella his eyes were almost black from anger. He leaned over the counter and asked,

"Are you okay, Isabella? You took off your apron and that guy's look was similar to the drawing of the Night Stalker. What did he say to you?"

"Nothing really. He just ordered his food, but he kept leering at me even when I asked him to move along. Do you think that's him?" She was shaking slightly, but she already felt safer when Edward showed up.

"We can't really tell. That's why we wanted to talk to him. Do you want to take a little restroom break?" His eyes had already started to lighten to a brown color. She nodded and Mike took over her register as soon as Edward signaled.

He waited for her to come around the counter and he followed her closely as she walked to the back. As they got closer to the restrooms, Bella saw a solitary woman sitting in the area closest to them. She was wearing a blond wig that was styled into an ear length bob that was a little shorter in the back than in the front. She took off her glasses and Bella saw the familiar brown eyes of Lisa McNichols. They nodded at each other and Bella smiled at her. She winked back and went back to working on her lap top, which was probably just a prop.

It was already 1p.m. and her shift had only one hour left. Edward knocked on the restroom door and asked if anyone was in there. He got no answer, so he entered and checked each stall. Bella chose one, closed it and locked it. She could see the back of Edward's white sneakers standing just outside the door.

After she washed her hands and left the restroom, Edward pulled her to the side and embraced her in a tight hug.

"I know that was scary. That guy might just be a jerk with the misfortune of resembling a serial killer. He made a big mistake by not cooperating. When your shift ends, I'm going over to the station to question him with Jasper." Bella nodded. He ran his hand down her cheek and kissed her softly.

"I'll be in grandma's apartment until your shift is over. As soon as I get you safely to the counter, I'm going to head back on up."

She acknowledged that she understood and they parted ways at the counter with a gentle squeeze of each other's hand.

****DBW****

When Bella's shift ended, she took off her hair net and let her hair down from the bun it was in. She found Charlotte and Mike to tell them she was leaving. They both told her to be careful. As soon as Bella walked out the door, two undercover officers were walking behind her and she could see a car following beside her.

When she walked into the safety of the gym ten minutes later, Enrique walked up to her.

"Are you alright, Bella?"

She nodded and he hugged her.

"Go on up to the loft. I'm looking out for you."

Bella walked quickly to the stairwell door and put in the codes she was given. She practically ran up the three flights after she securely closed the door. When she unlocked the loft door and walked in, she let out a huge breath and slid down it.

Peter and Amanda walked up to her saying hello. Peter offered her a hand up and Amanda hugged her.

Bella thought to herself,

Well, as first days of 'trying to catch a serial killer' go, that wasn't so bad.

****DBW****

_**A/N: Okay all that was a lot of information. I hope you don't feel overloaded. Let me know if you like it, or if you don't. Either way, it makes my day. **_

_**P.S. I just want to say that the talk of God, a soul, and redemption are major themes in Twilight and that's why they are themes in this story. I don't want anyone to be offended, or to think I'm trying to preach to anybody about Christianity. These things are issues for the characters. So, I just wanted to get that out there. **_

_**I had planned from the beginning that Angela would marry Ben almost right away. I thought their story was cute in Twilight and I wanted to make their connection pretty strong in this story. I know it's not realistic, but come on! It's a Twilight fic. Work with me! **_


	16. Chapter 16

**_This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this._**

**_All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended._**

**_A/N: My beta, Aniseed and my pre-reader, Humble4 are lifesavers! They're very patient with my insecurities and grammar issues. :) Thanks, ladies!  
_**

Chapter 16 – New Discoveries

Edward walked into the interrogation room after looking over the CJIS and CODIS reports on the man they arrested from the diner. The interrogation room consisted of the standard square gray cinder block with a long steel table, steel chairs, and a two-way mirror and it was wired for recording interrogations. The purpose was to make the interrogated feel cold, isolated, and without resources. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Edward had a feeling that this kid was not one who felt he was without resources, no matter what the room looked like.

His name was Alexander Vanderkief and he had a squeaky clean criminal record and there were no DNA profiles on him. He was the twenty-one year old son of a very prominent hedge fund manager in Chicago and he made sure he let everyone know that as soon as Jasper brought him into the station handcuffed. He had already lawyered up, but Edward wanted to talk to him anyway because his lawyer hadn't arrived, yet.

"Have you been made aware of your rights, Mr. Vanderkief?"

The man nodded without speaking and had a scowl on his face. Edward ignored it and sat down across from him.

"Has someone already offered you some water or coffee? May I call you Alex?"

The ponytail wearing man sneered at Edward.

"You can call me 'massah' because when my lawyer gets here and my father gets a hold of your uppity ass, I'll own you."

Edward raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. The man could have just stayed silent and Edward would've had to walk out and wait to question him when his lawyer arrived, if his lawyer would've allowed it. Obviously, he wasn't too bright and he liked to brag.

"Your father? Who's he?" He knew feigning ignorance of his father's prominence would irritate the hell out of him and that's exactly why he did it.

He scoffed at Edward as though he were the imbecile,

"My father is Samuel Vanderkief, of Vanderkief Financial Services; one of the largest hedge fund managers in Illinois and possibly the country. He's highly connected in this city and he has lunch and plays golf with the Mayor on a regular basis." The kid smiled like he had just gotten checkmate in a chess match.

"Now that you know who he is, I bet you wish you would've been somewhere hangin' with your homies or playing hoops instead of harassing an innocent tax-paying citizen today. You'll be out of a job by the end of the day." He was smirking in self-importance at Edward and leaning back in his chair waiting for a reaction from him.

The last time Edward played golf with the Mayor was after he helped his brother out with a robbery at his Gold Coast condo by finding out who did it within a matter of hours. He got the impression he hated the schmoozing and ass kissing he had to do to run this city. He was relatively certain his job was safe.

Edward had run into guys like this his whole life. He wasn't impressed. He hated to sink to his level, but he couldn't help but fuck with him just a little bit.

"Vanderkief? Are you related to the Vanderkiefs of the West Virginian Appalachians, by any chance? They play a mean fiddle. You play? I play the harmonica. Maybe we can get together and have a hootenanny."

The man slammed his hands on the table and stood up in anger; the loud clinks of the chains of his handcuffs were reverberant against the walls. Edward raised himself to his full height of 6'1" and leaned all of his 200 pounds forward on the table to look him in the eyes. The man was probably 5'9" and 150 pounds.

"I would advise you to sit your little smug ass down before I have to come around this table and sit it down for you. I don't think you want that." Edward glared at him as he leaned across the table. The man cowered and slowly sat down, like if he moved too quickly Edward would attack. He really didn't want to hurt this young man, but he was starting to work on his already frazzled nerves.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Edward finally sat back down and took a few calming breaths thinking the sooner this is over with the sooner he can get home to his two ladies.

"Now, I feel we got off on the wrong foot, Mr. Vanderkief. I just want to ask you a few questions about what happened today in _Shirley's Diner._ Would you be willing to humor me?"

"Well, I don't know. I'm charged with a felony that could ruin my life and prevent me from getting into law school, if I'm convicted. How important is this information to you?"

Edward's gave him a condescending look filled with amusement.

"You must not have a firm grasp on the art of negotiation, son. Let me explain things to you, because I understand living in high altitudes can affect the amount of oxygen getting to your brain; you have absolutely nothing that I need. You're obviously not who we were looking for and if you would've cooperated we wouldn't even be sitting here right now. You committed a battery against a police officer in front of a diner filled with witnesses. My _homies _in blue and Idon't take too kindly to that. We would _love _to see you in prison for a few years of your life that you think so highly of. I hope you have the best attorney your father's money can buy. Have a nice life." Edward got up to leave and started walking towards the door.

"Wait!"

Edward stopped and turned around.

The man looked defeated, which didn't give Edward any particular pleasure. He just wanted to know if all he was doing was flirting with a cute girl, as he said.

"Yes, Mr. Vanderkief?"

"I can answer your questions…Detective. You and I both know that I only poked you. It's not like I really committed a battery or anything. Maybe you can consider dropping these charges if I tell you what you want to know?"

Edward didn't respond to his question. The poor kid was incriminating himself as he spoke. He walked forward and asked,

"Are you saying you would be willing to answer a few of my questions?"

"Yes."

"Okay." He sat back down and began his questioning.

"When you wouldn't leave the line of the cashier was it just because you were trying to get a date? I mean a good-looking, wealthy, all-American guy like you shouldn't have to hit on a diner cashier to get a date. Am I right?"

The man chuckled a little, "You're right. She was cute and all and she did have a spectacular ass. I checked it out a couple of times when she turned to get some orders ready. But, she was a little too working class for me. I wouldn't have given someone like her the time of day, normally. But, if she would've flirted back, I may have made an exception and showed her a good time. However, a date with her wasn't my motivation. I was asked to go through her line by a hot little number I met that afternoon. That's who I really wanted to dip my stick in."

Edward tried his best not to leap over the table and strangle him. He was actually holding on to the table to keep himself in place.

"Oh, yeah? Why would a woman want you to go up to another woman and flirt with her?"

"I don't know. The bitch looked kind of freaky; like she was into girl on girl, or some BDSM shit. I don't judge. I would've been happy to watch."

"What did she look like? What caught your eye?"

"You know the type, man. You've probably even screwed a few. She had long black hair parted down the middle, dark glasses, and dark make-up. She had on skin tight black leather pants, fuck me heels and a red halter top. She was a little too flat up top for my taste, but she looked like she may have had a few props that would make up for it. She was wearing one of those collars with the big hoops on them; you know the kind that a submissive would wear for a dominant."

"That does sound a little freaky. Did you see any details of her face, like eye color, any scars, tattoos or other identifying marks? Did you get a name?"

"No. I didn't see her eyes. Like I said, she was wearing dark glasses. I couldn't see any marks on her body, or tattoos. She didn't give me her name."

"Could you tell her race or ethnicity? Did she have an accent of any kind?"

"She was white. I didn't hear an accent and I didn't really care. She could've been a creature from outer space, for all I knew. My blood wasn't exactly in the brain between my two shoulders, if you know what I mean?"

Edward chuckled a little at the cluelessness of this kid,

"Did she happen to mention why she wanted you to go through this woman's line. I know what you thought, but what did she say?"

"She said she wanted to see who was watching. I don't even know what the hell that means. Maybe that was a part of the BDSM shit."

Edward cringed internally. Whoever this was wanted to see if his Isabella was still being watched closely by the police and they had given her exactly what she wanted.

"It sounds like she was a hot piece of ass. Did you get her number, man?"

"No. She said she would be waiting for me when I left, but you fuckers arrested me."

"She didn't give you a business card, or put her digits in your cell or anything, man?"

"No. Thanks a lot, Detective." He slumped in his chair in disappointment. Edward had a feeling he had saved him from serious harm by arresting him. He was a first time offender. Although these charges were felony charges, they probably would be dropped. Or, he'd get a slap on the wrist in Cook County.

"Where were you when she asked you to do this?"

"She stopped me right in front of the diner as I was about to go in."

Edward stood up,

"Thanks, Mr. Vanderkief. That's all I needed. You were very helpful."

"Wait a minute! I helped you. Now, maybe you can help me. How about dropping these petty charges? We both know they'll get dropped anyway."

He looked hopefully at Edward.

"Well, Mr. Vanderkief, your father is such a prominent and wealthy man and he paid excellent money for your attorney that's coming. I think we should let him get his money's worth. Have a good one, kid. Keep your head up and don't drop the soap."

As Edward was leaving, he heard the man screaming and banging on the table.

Jasper and Lisa had been watching through the two-way mirror. When Edward approached them, they were laughing,

"'Maybe we can get together and have a hootenanny?' You are a fucking ass, Cullen. But, I liked your work in there. Let's go look at the surveillance and see if we can get a good picture of this woman."

Edward agreed, said his good-byes to Lisa and they headed back to Hyde Park.

****DBW****

Jasper and Edward rode in a comfortable silence back to Shirley's in Edward's Volvo. Jasper left his pickup at the station because Shirley was letting him stay at her place over the diner for the time being and he was riding back into the city with Lisa McNichols when it was necessary.

"So, Cullen, you got something against hillbillies?" Jasper was smiling and waiting for Edward's retort.

"Heavens no, Whitlock. I love a good hootenanny. Some of my best friends play the fiddle."

Jasper laughed so hard he accidently banged his head against the glass of the passenger side window.

"See, that's payback for bringing Mae Mae to the loft when I asked you to take her to Naperville."

"Yeah, whatever man. Listen what's the deal with this woman that stupid prick was talking about? Do you think she's been working with the Night Stalker all along, or do you think he just used her for the day?"

"It's really odd, Jazz. I saw a woman that fit that description on the surveillance for the electronics store on 87th and Racine from the night of Mae Mae's birthday party. The woman stood out to me because she purchased a disposable pre-paid phone about ten minutes before the Night Stalker called me that night, according to the time stamp. The store owner told me that nobody else bought a prepaid phone that day. A few people signed up for contract phones, but that's it. But Keisha told me that's where the phone that was used to call me was purchased."

"You think this is the same woman?"

"If it's not, it would be one hell of a coincidence."

"So, it looks like it's pretty safe to assume the Night Stalker has help."

"It looks that way, dawg. That would explain why women are still being lured even though they know that this man is targeting a specific type of woman."

The car was silent for a few minutes.

"This is what I don't understand, Cullen. If she is the lure, why stand right in front of the surveillance camera so everyone can see what she looks like? Wouldn't the point be to keep her hidden?"

"Yeah, that shit is stumping me too, Whitlock. Another factoid that's fucking with me is the fact that they sent someone in there that looks just like the image of the Night Stalker. Did they do that to scare, Isabella? Or, did they do that shit just to get us to come out of the woodworks?"

"The scary answer is it could be a little bit of both. This guy is smart and we always seem a few steps behind." Jasper looked uncharacteristically worried.

"What's going on, Jazz? You're not about to turn into me and have a fucking panic attack are you? There's only room for one drama queen in this car." Edward batted his eyelashes at Jasper and winked at him.

Jasper snorted and laughed at him, "I'm going to have to finally tell your sister you've been hitting on me, Cullen. She'll be devastated. She trusted you."

Edward laughed and gave Jasper the finger.

"Seriously man, don't worry about Alice. I baby her, but she can handle herself. Nobody's gonna fuck with her without one helluva fight."

Jasper laughed and nodded,

"I know that's right, son. Her strength is really kind of sexy."

Edward put one of his hands over his ear.

"Shit! I'm driving and I can't cover my other ear. Don't talk about 'sexy' and my sister in the same sentence, man. I'm still recovering from blacking out."

Jasper laughed and shook his head at Edward,

"I don't know how in the hell Bella puts up with your crazy ass. It must be real love."

Edward's smile was immense as he nodded.

"Yeah, I think it is."

****DBW****

When they reached Shirley's apartment, Edward went into the office and pulled up the surveillance from earlier in the afternoon. There she was, the dark-haired woman that Alexander told him about. He had footage of the surveillance from the electronics store stored on a flash drive at his home office. He would've bet everything he owned that this was the same woman in both videos.

He zoomed in on the collar she was wearing. It looked similar to a dog collar and it had D-Rings, not loops like Vanderkief had mentioned. He looked at Jasper who had the same light bulb moment look on his face.

"Whitlock, are you thinking what I'm thinking."

"Usually saying yes would be a scary thing, but, yeah, I think I am." Jasper quipped, but he was completely serious.

"Those marks on the neck…do you think they could be from one of these collars?"

"I don't know man. I've never seen a submissive collar with spikes on the inside of them. There's usually just the collar and the rings and that's it."

Edward looked him up and down with a raised eyebrow.

"How did you become such an expert? Please don't tell me that you know about this from your relationship with my sister. I've managed to keep my ass out of jail for my whole adult life. Don't make me a statistic."

Jasper rolled his eyes,

"You must chill, Edward. I have the utmost respect for your sister. I would never do anything with her that she didn't want."

"Stop. Red light. Flag on the play. I don't really want to know. I'm just wondering how you know about his stuff."

"I got my detective shield working the sex crimes unit in Dallas, you crazy man. I ran across all kinds of sick shit that I wouldn't expose my worst enemy to. But, believe it or not, the BDSM community was the least of my concerns. Usually their relationships are entirely confidential, consensual and respectful. There are a few people who get out of hand and really hurt somebody, but that was few and far between. But, when it did get out of hand, it got _really_ out of hand. I ended up having to research the community and the lifestyle for a case where I worked on a joint task force with homicide. A few women had been asphyxiated during sex play over the course of a year. When we finally found the man he was charged with three counts of second degree murder and a few other charges related to kidnapping and criminal sexual assault. The guy was the CEO of this big steel company down there. It was a mess. But, the community helped us find him. They didn't want that kind of bullshit tainting their community and coloring them as violent deviants."

Edward knew Jasper came from the sex crimes unit. Working robbery/homicide was new for him, but he was very detail-oriented and thorough in his investigations. He really appreciated having him as a partner. There was a focus and intensity to him that was rare. However, he had a calming effect that could get anyone to open up to him and tell them their life story.

"Are you still in contact with anyone from the community?"

"Yeah, I made a few friends that I keep in touch with."

Edward looked him up and down again with the raised eyebrow and Jasper gave him the finger. He laughed at him and patted him on the back.

"I'm just messing with you, man. Do you think you can find out if there's a collar that makes the kind of marks that the victims have on their necks from one of your friends?"

"Yep. I'm three steps ahead of you."

Jasper left the room and jumped on his cell to make a few calls. Jasper got in touch with a Domme named Siobhan and her husband and submissive, Liam. They agreed to do some research and get back to him.

"Hey, Edward, you'd like Siobhan and Liam. They're Irish. Liam is a really prominent mural painter in the Dallas area and Siobhan is an opera singer."

"Are you talking about Siobhan O'Rourke, Jasper? I met her. My high school music teacher was really good friends with the music director for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. A flute player was out on maternity leave and he was nice enough to invite me to take the spot for the holidays. I was in my senior year of high school and she was performing La Boheme over the Christmas holiday. It was a real honor. We talked after the show and she asked me what my goals were. That's when I had just found out I got the music scholarship to U of C. She was really nice to me considering that I was just a goofy high school kid. She's a Domme?"

Jasper looked a little astounded, but he rebounded fast, "Yep."

"Damn! You think you know somebody."

"She's a real sweet gal, Edward. The pipes on that woman are unbelievable. Her husband is a genius, I think. Some of the scenes he paints are absolutely breathtaking."

"I know Siobhan has pipes man. I actually had a little crush on her listening to her sing while I was practicing with the orchestra. When she walked everything undulated. You know what I mean?" Edward got a faraway look in his eyes and Jasper was giving him the eye.

"Come back to us, Edward. Remember the love of your life, Isabella?"

Edward shook his head and blushed a little.

"My bad. That was a long time ago now. Anyway, how long do you think it'll take for you to get that info from them?"

"I don't know, man. I let them know it was a life or death situation. They're good people. They'll get back to me ASAP."

"I need to tell you something, Jazz."

He waited patiently for Edward to begin.

"The Night Stalker takes souvenirs after he kills the women."

"I've looked through all of the reports…toxicology, serology, DNA, hair and fiber…what am I missing?" Jasper had a look like he was trying to bring up every detail from every file he looked through.

"Well, it has to do with hair."

"Okay. What is it?" He was sitting in rapt attention.

Edward knew Jasper was going to think he was crazier than he already thought he was,

"Well, you know I've taken these cases very…personally. I've had horrible nightmares where the women are begging me to stop him and asking me why this has happened to them."

Jasper bumped Edward's shoulder in commiseration.

"You know this is not your fault right? He's the one choosing to take lives; not you."

"Of course I know that intellectually, Jazz. But, psychologically it must not be seeping in because the guilt comes out through my dreams. It's not so bad now that Isabella is there when I fall asleep. But, I couldn't sleep before." He looked at Jasper with anxious eyes, but Jasper's eyes were imploring him to continue.

"Well, after the medical examiner's report was done I started…staying…with the corpses."

Jasper looked concerned.

"After the fifth woman was killed, Amber McGee, we knew for sure we had a real live serial killer in Chicago. Amber was the baby of the bunch. She had just turned twenty-one a week before she was killed. I had to go and tell this young girl's mother that her daughter was dead. She had just lost her husband to lung cancer. Jasper, she wailed. She wailed like a banshee. I just sat there and held her until she was all cried out. I promised her, Jasper, that we would stop this.

I called in Alistair because his reputation preceded him in regards to profiling and I knew my biological father worked with him. When the other women started showing up I started feeling so out of control. I would just sit there next to the woman and hold her hand after the ME was done. Sometimes I would talk to them and apologize for not doing my job better." Edward looked at him to see if Jasper was dialing a doctor. He wasn't. But, he still looked concerned.

"Well, I would also run my fingers through their hair. I know it's pretty sick and I really need to talk to someone. I guess I felt that it was the thing that got them killed and I was trying to understand why. But, here's the thing…I noticed that hair was missing from the crown. It's not something so noticeable that the ME would make note of it, but I noticed; maybe because I've been so…obsessed. There was this small patch of hair missing from every victim right in the center of the crown."

Jasper's brow was furrowed.

"For the first three women where I noticed it, I thought it was just a coincidence. But, after I kept noticing it on every woman in the same spot, I figured that he must be taking it as a souvenir.

"Edward, you think he's collecting hair from these women?"

"Yes. I can't figure out why and I haven't said anything to anybody about it but you. But, I think it's significant."

"Shit, Edward. I think we should tell Alistair. He might be able to make something out of it."

"Alistair told me that he seems to be afraid to touch the girls directly. So, maybe this woman that seems to be working with him is cutting the hair. Jazz, do what you need to with that information. I think the reason why I didn't say something before is because being the only one that knew this made me feel like I had some control. I had information other people didn't. I think maybe I thought I could use it against this man, but I really don't even know how to use the information."

Jasper felt deep sympathy for his partner and friend. He wasn't the type of person that could leave this job when he punched out. It made him a great detective, but it also made him an emotional wreck. He took things very personally. The panic attacks were par for the course. He needed to help Edward end this and he was going to do everything in his power to make that happen. Besides, Alice was connected to this now somehow and he couldn't lose her any more than Edward could stand to lose Isabella. It would kill both of them.

"Edward, thanks for telling me, man. When we talk to Alistair today, let's just tell him and see what he says. Taking souvenirs is a pretty common thing for serial killers. He seems to be obsessed with brunette hair. Maybe it's similar to a hunter taking a deer head and mounting it as a trophy. Maybe the hair is his trophy."

"That was one of the ideas I had, too. But, now we know he has help and it's possible she could be taking the hair. What I can't understand is what kind of woman would help a man lure other women, kill them, cut their hair as a souvenir, and dump the body. Do you think she's a victim or being forced to help?"

"I don't know man. Let's talk to Alistair first, figure out who she is and move on from there."

When Jasper left to go back down to the diner, Edward felt like they were finally making some progress. At the same time, he was worried because all the progress they were making was because the Night Stalker was allowing it. He said a little prayer that for once they could know something before he decided to reveal it. Alistair and Jasper were coming over to his loft so they could sit down and really talk.

He thought about the fact that he really loved running his hands through Isabella's hair. It was one of his favorite features of hers. It made him panic to think that the only reason why he was so drawn to it was because of whatever psychological and emotional issues he had from trying to track the Night Stalker. He knew with all of his mind, body and soul that he loved Isabella, but he didn't want to objectify her because of these killings. He decided he needed to talk to her before he talked to a professional. Isabella needed to know and she had a way of putting things in perspective for him.

****DBW****

When Edward walked into his loft at 5 p.m., the house was redolent with the smells of cooking. He could smell sausage, oregano, and a strong garlic aroma. When he walked into the kitchen, Amanda jumped from her seat and ran up to him carrying some papers.

"Edward, look what I did today with Peter."

Edward looked at the neat printing and writing of the five-year old. She had spelled all of her words correctly and identified all of the vowels in the alphabet. She was supposed to draw a picture of her family and she had drawn an unusual one, to say the least. She drew Bella and Edward with his whole family. She drew Angela and her mother. She also drew Jacob and his family, with the dog. There were maybe twenty stick people in that drawing. Edward let out a genuine laugh. He really adored this girl.

She looked disgruntled, "Why does everyone laugh at my picture? What's so funny?" She pouted and crossed her arms very similar to Bella's angry stance.

He saw how offended she was and apologized,

"I'm sorry, Manda Bear. It's just that most people only draw a few people when they're asked to draw their family. They draw their parents and any pets they have. But, you're right. You have a much bigger family than just Isabella."

She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, like her sister does when she's nervous or excited about something.

"So, I should have just drawn you, me and Bella Boo?"

His heart softened and he said,

"If we're who you think of when you hear the word family, then that's what you should draw. But, this is a beautiful drawing. "

"Thanks, daddy. I'm gonna go and put some finishing touches on it before dinner."

She hugged him around the knees and ran up the stairs to her room.

He turned towards Isabella and both sets of their eyes were glistening with tears. She dropped her spoon and ran up to him and wrapped him in a tight hug. He picked her up and set her on the kitchen island so that he was standing between her legs.

"Your loving wuss is home, tears and all."

She laughed that laugh where her head falls back and her shoulders shake a little.

She kissed him softly and sensually sucked his bottom lip into her mouth and then moved up to his top lip. He moaned deeply because her kiss was just what he needed after the day he had. After they finally broke apart, she wiped the tears off of his cheeks and he mimicked her actions as she said,

"We're having lasagna. I think that'll be enough to feed all six of us."

Edward mentally counted who he knew was coming.

"Who else is coming besides Alistair and Jasper?"

"Alice. She wanted to hang out with us."

Edward smiled. He would be glad to have dinner with sister. He kissed Bella on the cheek and told her he was going up to shower. When he came back down, Bella had set the table in the dining area and Amanda was sitting on the couch watching SpongeBob Squarepants. He wholeheartedly believed that show could cause brain damage in a child. If Emmett was any indication, it could cause brain damage in an adult. He wanted to talk to Isabella about letting Amanda watch it. But, he'd do that later. They went about the business of bringing the food, bread, salad, and condiments together. When they finished, as if on cue, the intercom buzzer blared letting Edward know someone wanted to come up.

He pushed the intercom button.

"_Edward, it's us. I have the key. I'm coming up." _

He jokingly asked,

"Who is this?"

"_Edward, stop being an ass. I just didn't want to surprise you. We'll see you in a minute_."

His baby sister always made him laugh.

****DBW****

Edward and Bella were cleaning up putting everything in the dishwasher. Meanwhile, everyone else was stuffed from dinner, was sitting on the couch with the news on that they were all ignoring. Jasper and Alistair were arguing about who was the better Superman, Christopher Reeve or Brandon Routh. Edward thought it was a silly debate. It was Christopher Reeve; no contest. Alice thought the new guy was cuter. They all rolled their eyes. Amanda had no idea what they were talking about. If the conversation wasn't about Hannah Montana, she was completely uninterested.

"So, I hear somebody has a birthday coming up." Alice smiled big at Amanda who was sitting on the floor on a cushion between Alice's knees getting her hair braided.

Amanda smiled and started talking a mile a minute about how she wanted a _Cars_ themed birthday party and what she wanted for presents. Bella admonished her saying that she can't tell people what to get her. They give from their heart and she should be grateful. She pouted and Alice whispered something in her ear and she smiled from ear to ear, kissed her and ran up to her room.

Bella said, "What in the world did you say to her?"

"I said we would make her a 'Mater' cake, which means you will make her a 'Mater' cake because I can't bake for shit. Then, I told her she can stay with me in Naperville tonight and we can play dress up."

"Uhmmm…don't you have to run that by somebody first, Mae Mae?" Edward asked her with a scolding tone.

"Bella doesn't mind. You don't mind do you, Bella? We'll get her back before Peter comes in the morning."

Bella looked torn. She hated it when Amanda was gone. But, Amanda loved her Aunt Alice and she really missed Angela, so she was indulging her a lot lately.

"No. I don't mind. Just promise to have her back and dressed for school, not a costume party, before Peter gets here at eight."

Alice promised she would and whispered to Bella that she was a hard-ass in her ear. She went to help Amanda pack. Jasper, Alistair and Edward needed to talk privately so they went into Edward's office, which left Bella alone. She decided to join Alice and Amanda upstairs.

****DBW****

Edward and Jasper filled Alistair in on the souvenirs that the Night Stalker was taking and the woman that seemed to be helping him.

"Fellas, I don't think she's a kidnapped girl that's working with him now. That woman is not a natural brunette, from what I can see. This man's victims are always natural brunettes. The carpet always matches the drapes, if you know what I mean. But, if you look at the surveillance at the electronics store, her roots are showing. It's a black and white image, so I can't tell what color the roots are, obviously, but she is not a brunette."

Edward and Jasper gave him a questioning look.

"My wife owned a beauty salon before she passed and talked about this kind of crap all of the time. I learned a few things over the years"

They were still giving him an odd look.

"Don't judge me. Anyway, I don't think she's a victim or that she has Stockholm Syndrome. But, of course, we can't rule that out completely."

They talked a little more about the fact that now the Night Stalker knows that Bella is still being watched closely and what his next move might be. They thought that the more he and his partner get frustrated, the more they are going to try to get her isolated. They can't snatch any of her family or friends. They're all well-protected or hidden away. So, that might lead to them making a mistake out of desperation, which they were really hoping for. They also talked about getting Captain Morris to release the picture of the woman and offering a reward to anyone who knows who she is. They can say it's related to a missing child case, or something.

"I hate that we keep giving this prick exactly what he wants." Jasper growled out.

"Yeah, but what choice do we really have. We have to play his game and I've been humbled enough to be able to say that he is in control." Edward said ruefully.

Jasper got up to leave a little dejected, but determined to see this through to the end without their loved ones being harmed. The killers had persistence, evil and hate on their side. They had determination, love, and teamwork on their side.

Jasper, Alice and Amanda left for the evening with the promise of being back before 8 in the a.m. the next day. Amanda hugged Bella and then hugged Edward and said,

"Bye, daddy. I left Davie to keep you and Bella Boo safe. I'm taking Bobo because he gets scared without me."

Edward thanked her and hugged her once again cursing himself for tearing up. He looked up into Alice's face and she was teary-eyed, too. Jasper was chuckling. He shook his head and said his good-byes because now he was going to be known as "Detective _Wuss_en" around the station, if Whitlock had anything to do with it.

****DBW****

Alistair stayed behind to talk to Bella and Edward. He had been wanting to since the first day he saw Bella again. They sat down on the couch with a couple of coffees and a Guinness for Edward.

"You two look rather comfortable together." He smiled knowingly.

Edward and Bella blushed at the same time and he laughed and slapped his knee.

"I told you it was destiny."

They both flashed bashful smiles at the man that was a father-figure to them.

"You did say that and I tend to agree with you, Al." He beamed at the man that had been completely devoted to this case and seemed available any time he called no matter what time of day.

They joked around for a few more minutes, but eventually Alistair became serious.

"Edward, I've struggled with whether or not I should talk to you about some things that I know are going to make you angry and want to take action and I've decided that you need to know…you both need to know. But, I want you to promise me that you'll focus on Bella and making sure she's safe right now instead of losing focus and giving into your rage."

He looked at Isabella, squeezed her hand, and sat up a little in his chair.

"Al, I can't imagine you telling me anything that would make me lose focus on Isabella."

Alistair continued, but still seemed conflicted,

"Edward you know I was there the day your father was supposed to arrest Aro Volturi, right?"

Edward affirmed with a head nod that he knew, but he was anxious to hear what else he had to say, so he stayed mute.

"I was the one that sent the kill shot to Aro and one of his bodyguard's, Demetri. Your father shot and killed Aro's other bodyguard, Felix. I was assigned to watch from the roof of the building next door. I saw the whole thing go down through my scope, although, admittedly, I was more honed in on Aro and his wife, Jane, and his two bodyguards than anything else."

He had Edward's and Bella's rapt attention.

"The whole thing had been planned down to the letter for over a month. We went over and over what was supposed to happen. There were three different busts going down at the same time in three different locations. Marcus' and Caius' arrest went as smooth as silk. There were no problems and Edward had planned it meticulously. He kept saying he didn't want anyone to get hurt and for everyone to be able to go home and 'hug and kiss on the people they love,' as he put it. I knew him as Reggie at that time.

Edward smiled. His father was very affectionate and a person would've known from the way he gave a hug that he was loved by him.

Detective Liam O'Keefe was CPD and had gone undercover with the Volturi for almost two years and he hadn't gotten any results." Alistair sneered and the edges of his more fierce side could be seen through his smile lines.

"He practically bribed his captain at the time to be on Edward's team. Your father was dead set against it. He did not trust O'Keefe. It was just a gut thing and I agreed.

"Everything was supposed to go down at the old _Copherbox_ night club on South Halsted. Aro thought it was safe to do business there because of Edward, basically. He helped the Voluri maneuver through the south side of Chicago with no problems. They were running guns, drugs, prostitution; just about any vice you can name the Volturi were deep into it.

Your father had Aro wrapped around his little finger. Aro was confiding things in him that I don't even think he was telling his own brothers. Edward could charm a snake."

Bella and Edward laughed. Edward had heard of his father's charms from many people, including his biological mother and Esme.

"Edward wouldn't shoot Aro because he was using Jane as a shield. Jane was pregnant at the time. Edward would tell me that Aro wouldn't let Jane eat. He would tell her if she got fat he would kill her and, in his words, find a new bitch." Alistair looked up apologetically at Bella for using such harsh language and she just shrugged him off because she wanted him to finish.

"Your father was sneaking her prenatal drugs and making sure she got to her doctor's appointments. I think she figured out he wasn't who he said he was because of how…good of a person he was. Your father was almost too good at what he did on the street for them…the gun running. Aro thought it had something to do with his advice to and guidance of your father, but Jane knew better.

I believe with every ounce of my being that O'Keefe set it up for Edward to be shot the night of the bust. He didn't secure the exits of the building and he didn't send his team in to secure Jane and get her in an ambulance fast enough. He claims that he wasn't given clear instruction from your father, but everybody knew what was supposed to happen that night."

He looked at Bella,

"Your father didn't think it was an accident that Edward was allowed to be killed, either. When he came for the funeral he told me that he was going to continue to investigate things on his end. He thought there may have been a connection between CPD and _the Newborns_ in Seattle. He had been investigating them for over a year himself. He looked into it for three years, but nothing panned out and O'Keefe retired.

One day out of the blue Charles called me, Bella. He told me that he had seen O'Keefe around the Seattle area. He was following O'Keefe to see who he was meeting with. It had to have been about ten years since your father's funeral and Charlie never let up."

Bella's eyes were the size of saucers when Alistair mentioned her father's activities.

"We stayed in touch pretty regularly after that until the time of his death. The last thing he told me was that O'Keefe seemed to be pretty cozy with Riley "Scout" Monroe; you know the leader of the _Newborns._ He had seen them around town having lunch and whatnot. I'm almost positive your father was in the process of finding solid proof that O'Keefe had a connection with the Volturi, the _Newborns,_ and that he had something to do with both of your parents' death, Edward.

Only two days after Charlie spoke to me, he was killed on a routine narcotics bust. The local police thought it was a _Newborn_ killing because of the bullet positioning and the fact that he was on a drug bust and the drugs most likely came from the _Newborns_. They have a signature killing style and the way Charlie was shot was their style."

They were both sitting there open-mouthed

"I confronted O'Keefe about what Charlie told me and he claimed he hadn't been to Seattle in years. I don't know if Charlie was doing actual surveillance of O'Keefe because I never saw any pictures, video or any other physical evidence of what he told me. But, I would never doubt Charlie's truthfulness. He was a good man and he was really broken up when Edward was killed. I was standing next to him when he found out Elizabeth's murder was hardly investigated and closed out as a random gang murder. The look of rage that came into his eyes was something I had never seen before. He sunk his teeth into O'Keefe and didn't let go for almost twelve years, Bella. He was a pit bull."

Edward finally spoke up with a hoarse voice, "Al, you think my dad was allowed to be murdered by Jane and that a Chicago police detective was responsible for it?"

Alistair bowed his head and nodded shamefully.

"You also think my mother was murdered, Chicago PD had something to do with it and didn't even really investigate it thoroughly?"

Alistair didn't say or do anything because he knew that Edward was asking rhetorically.

"CPD is my family, Al. I have been a cop for ten years now. My back has always been covered in every situation. But, you're telling me that I'm working with the people that murdered my family and Isabella's father?." Edward's voice was completely devoid of inflection. Bella was looking at him with a horrified and worried expression and squeezing his hand so hard it was becoming white where the blood wasn't circulating.

"No, Edward. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that your father worked with one man that was a cop in title only. Every indication is that he was a criminal with a badge and Bella's father was killed because he was investigating this same man. I don't know what you want to do with this information, but I would bet my eyeteeth that Charles Swan has evidence that O'Keefe was dirty somewhere." He looked at Bella with an expression she couldn't quite place.

"Bella, did your father have places that he kept things…hidden? I mean, if they were hidden, you wouldn't have known about them, of course. But, I can't imagine that he was following this man and he didn't have any record of it. He was an expert on surveillance. He trained me."

The room was silent. Edward's face was drained of blood and Bella was searching her brain desperately trying to remember anything about her father's office and anywhere else he would have stored things.

"I own the house in Forks, Al. I can always go look, but I really don't know where to begin and what I would be looking for."

Alistair nodded and stood up.

"Well, I know I've dumped a lot on you two tonight and what I've told you is very traumatic. I don't even know who it's more traumatic for between the two of you. But, we might still be able to do something about it. I know we have to make it through this Night Stalker business first. However, I know both of you need real closure for a lot of reasons."

Alistair walked over and touched Edward on the shoulder empathically and patted Bella's head before he walked out of the door to go home. Bella sat and held Edward's hand in silence. His breathing was shallow and he was full of the rage that Alistair had cautioned him against.

"If I find out for sure that man had anything to do with our parents' death, he won't have to worry about being tried for his crimes. I'm going to kill him with my bare hands."

****DBW****

_**A/N: Thanks for being patient with me. I had some technical glitches that I found out were easily solvable. :/ That's what happens when you're technologically challenged. :( **_

_**I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. If you did, let me know. If you didn't, let me know that, too. It helps me to grow.**_

_**Thanks! xoxo**_


	17. Chapter 17

**_This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this._**

**_All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended._**

**_A/N: Humble4 and Aniseed are the bestest ever! Apparently, I have a problem with using my 'buts' in sentences. I knew I had a butt problem, but I thought it was just a little too wide. Who knew? :) Also, Thaigherlillie, you're wonderful and you already know why. :)  
_**

Chapter 17 – Need and Resolution

His eyes were so dark brown they were almost black and the pupils had the gold 'hungry' specks around them. She could tell in his anger he was out for blood and that was not a good look on the man she loved.

Isabella was angry, too. She would even say enraged almost, but she wasn't ready to kill anyone with her bare hands. She knew Edward wasn't exaggerating or using a cliché expression; he was going to kill Liam O'Keefe, if he could get his hands on him.

"Edward, look at me. Where are you, sweetie? You're not here with me; this angry man is, and that's scaring me more than anything we've heard or been through."

He turned his incensed gaze on her and it felt like he was burning her with the hate in his eyes.

"What the fuck are you talking about, 'where am I?' I'm right the fuck here! I just heard that a cop killed my mother, my father and your father! I don't really care if it's directly or indirectly. It's his fucking doing and he must be removed from this fucking planet!"

He was absolutely untamed and was already armed from work that day. He got up from the couch and headed towards the room that served as his office. He had asked Bella not to go in there, but his anger was so focused, he didn't stop her from following him.

He opened the door with such intense energy that it hit the wall and the doorknob made a hole. He didn't even pause to look at the damage as he strode to the wall and hit a button that opened a panel. There were weapons mounted like in a really bad action movie. He had automatic weapons, tasers, blackjacks, billy clubs, and knives. Bella gasped at his arsenal and wondered why in the hell he had so many different types of weapons.

She took a second to glance around the room and she noticed a cork board with pictures of many different women, all similar looking. Underneath the neatly aligned row of women's pictures was a picture of her that she didn't remember posing for. The cork board also contained pictures of the fake delivery guy and a picture of a woman who looked like an eighties punk rocker, or a dominatrix, talking to the guy that he arrested that morning.

She dragged her attention away from those pictures back to Edward. He had pulled out two knives with serrated edges and a taser-gun and was loading everything in a duffle bag. His eyes were still the same two dark and angry flame shooters as they were before.

"Edward, what in the hell are you doing? You look like a crazy man. You can't do whatever it is you think you're going to do. You promised Alistair that you would focus on catching the Night Stalker before you pursued anything else."

He turned to face Bella and she didn't see any of the love that she looked for from him. She needed his reassurance that they both weren't crazy for feeling the way they do about each other. Now, she was getting enraged.

"Edward, when you left to 'protect me' before, you came back to me after some revelations," She sarcastically used air quotes when she said 'protect me' and Edward glowered at her momentarily and continued what he was doing. "I thought one of them was that you're not going anywhere without Amanda and me. Do you want to go pick up the girl that calls you daddy and let her watch you torture and kill a man because you're mad?"

He stopped what he was doing and turned around with a frighteningly livid look on his face that Bella had never seen, even at his angriest. She even backed up a couple of steps, although she knew it wasn't really directed at her.

"How can you call that murderer a man, Isabella? He took everything away from us…everything! He took away my childhood. I was fucking catatonic, Isabella. I had to be hospitalized at one point. Look what he did to you! You didn't have anybody, but your fucking imaginary worlds and your mother when she decided to check in. Now you're raising your sister because of the step-father, you would've never had, if your father was alive and wasn't murdered! This is not going to be murder. This is going to be justice. Jane Volturi will never be executed for her crimes, but this piece of shit will." His chest was heaving and he was frightening, crazy, and beautiful all at the same time.

"Edward, I'm looking into your eyes…the eyes that tell me so much about the man I love and I don't know who you are right now. My father wanted Liam O'Keefe to pay for what he did the right way. You think he couldn't have grabbed a couple of weapons and went after that asshole like you're doing now? He dug his heels in for twelve years…twelve years, Edward; my entire life before he died, to make sure he paid for what he did to your parents. He died for it because it was the right thing to do. I thought you were that type of man, too. God knows I don't want you to die, too. If you go out there and act out on this man because you're angry, I'll still love you but I'll never see you the same way again. Does that matter to you?"

The gold specks left his eyes and they were just dark brown. She was hoping that she could talk some sense into him until they became lighter and lighter. Bella walked up to him slowly and pushed her hands between his arms that were hanging tightly at his sides and tried to pull him close to her. He wouldn't budge. So, she moved closer to him and wrapped one leg around his calf.

"I'm not letting you go."

"You can't stop me. I'm going to watch the blood drain out of his body and dance around his corpse."

She gasped. "You won't hurt me to leave here and you would have to hurt me to leave here, so you're not going."

"Isabella, please let go of me. I don't want to have to hurt you."

"I'm not letting go. You wouldn't hurt me…ever. If you go out there and do something this fucking stupid you would break a lot of hearts; Amanda's, your friends', and your entire family's."

They stood like that with his arms rigidly at his side and hers wrapped around him willing him to put that bag down and stay with her. There were angry tears streaming down his face and his eyes had turned a lighter brown, but there was no green or gold.

"I love you, Edward."

He didn't respond.

"I love you, Edward."

"Let me go, Isabella."

"No." She hugged him tighter and he started to move towards the door with her wrapped around him.

"Well, I guess you're coming with me, then."

"No. I'm not. You're staying here." She felt something cold and metal in a pouch on his belt and realized it was his handcuffs. She grabbed them quickly and locked them together by their wrists. She grabbed his keys, took off the handcuff key and threw it across the room.

"Isabella, I have more than one handcuff key."

"Well, I guess you better go get it, then."

He looked at her for what felt like a very long time, but was probably only a few seconds. Finally, he finally screamed out,

"Fuuuuuuuuuuucccccckkkkkkk! You are so fucking stubborn. I am not staying here while somebody that killed our parents is still breathing!"

His eyes had edges of green around the brown now and she knew he was coming back to her. She wanted the gold back. She wanted him to look at her the same way he had for every day of the last eight days.

She reached down with one hand and rubbed it across the fly of his jeans.

"What are you doing, Isabella?"

She didn't answer, but she kept rubbing him through his jeans harder and more insistently until she felt him respond. Her Edward. He was all hers.

_Mine._

The only thing she could focus on was making him feel less pain. She wanted her man back with her, so she started unbuttoning his jeans.

"Isabella, please stop." She could hear that his voice was different. It was going back to his normal sweet tone.

She just kept on unbuttoning his jeans until she could see his black boxer briefs underneath. He was only half-way erect, but he was still bigger than the men she had seen in her short life. She wanted to really see him lose control with her and not with what he had in that duffle bag.

She took her other hand that was handcuffed to his and started to use it push down his jeans. She reached around his back and pushed them down as she let her hands travel over his tight bottom. His handcuffed hand grabbed on to her wrist to stop her, but the pants had already fallen with the clank of his gun that hit the wood floor reverberating in the room.

"Isabella, please. We have to stop and I need to go." However, he wasn't doing anything to stop her.

As she got to the bottom of the curve of his ass, she pushed her hands under the bottom of his briefs and squeezed him trying to pull him closer to her, but he still wouldn't budge.

She grabbed onto the bottom of the underwear and tugged them down. The front wouldn't go down with the back so she stepped back a little to see what was happening and she saw his cock had hardened fully and his underwear would not come down easily over it. So, she slowly caressed him from his butt to the "V" of his hips and tugged them down over his member that was now fully erect and leaking. His briefs fell to the floor on top of his jeans.

"Isabella, I can't..."

She reached up on her tiptoes and put her finger over his lips asking him silently to be quiet and she took her handcuffed hand and wrapped it around him. She used her thumb to spread his moisture around the tip of him and he sighed loudly. She caressed him softly using both hands from the bottom of his shaft to the tip again and again. She reached down with the hand that wasn't locked to his and softly cupped his balls then she reached right behind the sac, where Alice told her men were especially sensitive, and she rubbed softly causing him to react.

"Aaaaaah, shit. Please." He dropped the bag and physically grabbed her hands. He was standing in front of her half naked and fully erect with his cock leaking and weeping, like his eyes were earlier.

He guided them back towards his desk and reached in the top drawer for one of his spare handcuff keys and unlocked them.

"We don't need these. I'm already tethered to you, Isabella." Her heart leapt for joy. The green and gold were back.

He kicked off his shoes and socks while stepping out of his jeans and underwear. He took off his button down and pulled his white t-shirt over his head where his locks were gathered over his head for a second and then fell haphazardly to his shoulder after being released from his shirt. The normally neat and organized Edward threw his shirts over his head where they landed in a heap somewhere in back of him. He was completely naked and vulnerable for her and she felt…powerful and relieved, simultaneously.

She was wearing a mini-halter dress with ballet flats. She knew she wasn't being very ladylike or demure, but she couldn't help but kneel in front of him so she could really see all of him and she really didn't care about being a fucking lady at the moment.

She caressed the outside of his legs from his ankles to the indents in the side of his ass. They felt like they were designed for her hands to fit in so she could hold him closer to her.

"Spread your legs for me, sweetie."

He moaned and complied immediately.

She kissed, sucked, and lightly bit the inside of this right leg from the kneecap to right beside his manhood. She took that moment to lightly blow on him from his shaft to the tip and he groaned deeply and dug his fingers into her hair.

"Isabella, please don't tease me; not tonight. I need to feel you around me." He took one of his hands out of her hair and used them to softly caress her lips. Her body responded instantly to his plea for her mouth by raining down wetness on her panties.

"You need me, sweetheart?"

"Yes, please. I need you." She knew it was wrong, but she loved it when he begged. She would give him just about anything he wanted when he said please.

She slowly licked her own personal tootsie roll pop from the bottom to the top and slowly dragged her tongue across the tip and right under the head. He growled and she grew wetter.

"Take off that fucking dress, Isabella."

She immediately did what she was told and he let out a string of profanities because she was braless again.

He reached his hands down, but he huffed because he was too tall to reach her. She stood up and he sighed and softly rubbed the back of his hands over her breasts, then he began to gently cup them and knead them. He rubbed her erect nipples between the thumbs and forefingers of both hands. Bella moaned loudly and reached around his waist pulling him closer to her and his cock became pressed between them against her stomach. He moaned and moved his hips slightly. She sighed happily because he let her move him this time.

But, she snapped out of her own pleasure to push his hands away because she wanted this to be about him.

"We'll have time for that later, sweetie." She cooed to him and got back on her knees after she folded her dress and placed it on the floor as a cushion. Her hands wrapping around his hips and pulled him closer to her and she took him in her hand and lightly kissed him and rubbed his tip along her bottom lip and then over her top. She let his wetness coat her lips. Her body responded to her desire to please him by flooding her mouth with saliva.

"Edward, I want you to show me how to please you. I want you to make love to my mouth."

He gasped and his eyes rolled back into the back of his head and he mumbled to himself,

"This fucking woman is going to kill me one day."

He looked into her eyes finally and she smiled. Her Edward was back.

"Open up for me, baby."

She opened her mouth as wide as she could to let him in. He softly caressed her cheek and then slid both of his hands in her hair again. He slowly pushed himself into her wet mouth. He moaned so loudly that her pussy jumped in response. She didn't even know it could do that.

"So fucking hot and wet and all for me. You are mine, Isabella. I won't ever let you wonder again."

Isabella felt like the sexiest woman in the world. He was fucking her mouth, his eyes were closed with pleasure and the veins in his neck were popping out from his effort not to hurt her or push too far. Her hands were holding on tightly to his ass. When he would hesitate or pull back with a look of concern on his face she would push him back in further. She mused that oddly her gag reflex only kicked in at the doctor's office.

She wanted him all the way in her mouth. She wanted this as much as he did. He was moaning her name and losing himself in her.

"Mmmmm, baby, I-I can't stop. Please let me come in your mouth. Can I come in your mouth, Isabella?"

She moaned loudly and nodded. She took one hand and slid it down into her underwear to rub her swollen clit. She was just as aroused as he was and she knew he could smell her because she could.

He moaned like he was in pain and she looked up at him to see what was wrong and they locked eyes. The lust and affection she saw in his eyes almost made her open her mouth and let him go, but she didn't want to lose him. She wanted to hold on, so she focused.

They stared into each other's eyes and he mouthed 'I love you so much.'

His thrusts became erratic and he gently pushed as far into her mouth as she could take. She wanted him all the way in, so she wouldn't let him stop until he reached her throat and she started to swallow.

"How the…ooooh shiit. Isabella, I don't want to hurt you."

She held onto him with all she had in her and he released several hot streams down her throat as she swallowed. She moaned deeply and the vibrations made him scream out her name.

"Isabella! I fucking love you with everything in my fucking body!"

He was shaking violently and his knees buckled and he dropped down in front of her after she released him with a pop. She wiped her mouth with the back of one hand and smiled because she loved hearing him say he loved her and she knew she had pleased him. She was still grinding against her own hand and moaning because her release was imminent.

He gently pulled her hand out of her underwear and said with a voice hoarse from his orgasm,

"Stand up, baby. I'll help you." He yanked her boy shorts down and pulled her close to him. He picked up one of her legs and put it over his shoulder, as he buried his nose in her sex inhaling her scent.

"I could smell that you needed me, baby. Do you know how sexy that is?"

Bella sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and shook her head no. He stared at her mouth with hunger.

"I won't worry about that one right now." He hissed as his finger spread her lips above her pussy and he felt how wet she was. He leaned forward, but he looked like he felt awkward and she didn't know if she could keep her balance.

He stood to his full height, picked her up by her bottom and carried her over to the wall and leaned her back against it. One of her legs was still draped over his shoulder the other was wrapped around his waist. He lifted her up the wall so her sex was right in front of his mouth and he slowly and sensually suck and kissed on her lips down there. They moaned together and he pushed her up a little higher holding her there with his upper body while she held on to his broad shoulders. He pushed his tongue into her pussy and she yelled out. He used one hand to hold on to her hip he used the other to rub the top of her thigh that was right next to his head, as her leg was still over his shoulder. He dipped in and out of her with his tongue. His grunts and moans were mixed with hers. They were making their own love song together. She started to grind against his lips and tongue faster.

"I'm coming, Edward! Oh my fucking God! I'm about to come!"

He moaned and lightly slapped and squeezed her ass several times. Bella didn't think she would like it if a man did that, but every time he did she just got wetter. She shivered and rolled her hips against his face. He removed his tongue and she whimpered like a puppy. He replaced it with his fingers and turned his wrist so that he was rubbing on her spot quickly and then slowly. He alternated every couple of seconds and it was driving her crazy. He softly latched onto her clit with his lips and tongue and sucked her into his mouth and she cried out her release and dug her hands into his hair to hold on to him as tightly as she could while she shivered and grinded her hips until she finished. He lapped up her juices with his tongue like he was cleaning a plate after a tasty dish he couldn't get enough of. He was moaning and mumbling to himself,

_My puddin'. All mine. I love you, baby girl._

She broke out in a grin so wide she felt that her face was going to split in two.

"I love you, too, Edward. I really do."

His arms were shaking slightly, but he managed to lift her up so he could release her leg from over his shoulder and he let her slide down the wall against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and locked them there with her ankles.

He was looking into her eyes lovingly with the lush green again. She sighed with happiness that her Edward was back. She could see her juices glistening around his mouth and on his chin. She pulled his face to hers and slowly kissed him tasting herself on his mouth. She was grinding her sex against his stomach as she kissed him. He pushed his tongue in and out of her mouth like he had done earlier with her pussy and a few minutes later she came again all over his stomach. He leaned his forehead against hers and she looked down with him. He was hard again.

"You are so fucking beautiful when you let go, baby." He rubbed her back and held her tightly against him.

She urged him to let go a little by pushing on the shoulders that held her up moments before so she could reach down wrap her hands around his cock guiding him to her sex. He gazed up at her with a tortured look, but she had already started to slide onto him. His head rolled back and he moaned out her name loudly,

"Isabella, I-Wait a minute baby." He slowly pulled away and carried her out of the office and up the stairs. He set her in the middle of his bed and climbed between her legs. He kissed her lips with a chaste closed mouth kiss.

"Spread your legs for me, baby. I want to see all of you when I enter your sweet pussy."

His eyes were hooded and he was licking his lips. She spread her legs as wide as they could go without hurting herself. He locked eyes with her and used his hand to rub his cock over her wet pussy coating himself with her juices. The head of him pushed against her clit that was still sensitive from her other orgasms and she winced a little. His brow furrowed,

"Are you okay, baby?"

She nodded vigorously and wrapped her legs around his ass trying to pull him into her. He shook his head no and unwound her legs from his waist. He slowly and gently placed one leg over each shoulder.

"Is this okay for you? Are you uncomfortable?"

She shook her head no and grinded her hips against him to get him to keep going. He smiled at her and kissed her nose as he slid in slowly inch by inch of his silk covered hardness. The electricity that they felt normally was there in full force running up and down her spine and rolling around in the bottom of her stomach. It felt perfect.

Her eyes widened because she had never felt so full, but it wasn't uncomfortable. When he had finally pushed himself all the way in, he stopped and rested his forehead against hers and they both moan out from the intensity of the feeling.

"Baby, d-do you feel that? That thing we have together…those sparks are all around my dick and my legs. We're like a lock and key."

They locked eyes again and she smiled because she felt it, too. He didn't move his hips for a couple of minutes. They just relished in being connected this intimately. He sucked and licked on the hollow above her collar bone. He kissed the top of her breasts and feasted on her nipples and he intertwined his fingers with hers. Bella couldn't stand it anymore, so she started to move against him. He released her right nipple with a soft pop and smiled lovingly at her,

"Are you ready for us, Isabella?" She smiled back and nodded.

He moved his hips back to a point where he almost left her completely and pushed back in firmly. She yelled out,

"Goddamn that feels good!"

As he would thrust in, she would meet him and grind against him. Her clit would rub against his hip bone and she was in fucking heaven.

He moaned, "I love the way you wind your hips against me baby. It's like you're dancing with me."

She laughed and then moaned a little, but managed to say, "I can't dance."

He looked at her intently as he thrust in harder and she winded against him in a small tight figure eight.

"The hell you can't. You move against me like my perfect dance partner."

Sweat was dripping from his face, chest and stomach. Bella was drenched in a mixture of both of them.

"Edward, I-I need it harder. I'm not glass. I won't break." She blushed crimson because she had never really asked a man for what she needed, but this was the man she planned on spending the rest of her life with, however long that may be, and he loved her. It was okay.

He looked at her with wide eyes and then he turned feral again, but this time she wasn't scared.

"Turn onto your stomach baby."

He released her legs from his shoulders and she turned over. He licked her from the bottom of her right butt cheek to the bottom of her spine and kissed the small of her back and gave her sweet butterfly kisses up to her neck. He gently lifted her torso so that she was on her knees.

"Hold on to something, baby."

He lined up his cock with her entrance after he recoated himself with her wetness and he slammed into her moving her up the bed a good five inches.

"Holy shit!"

He grinned into her neck and said,

"Be careful what you ask for."

He slammed into her over and over again. Every time he would connect with her body he would grind his hips against her ass. He grabbed onto her hips and pulled her against him controlling the rhythm.

He moaned, "It feels so tight with you this way, baby. I love pushing against this full soft round ass." He rubbed her left cheek before he slammed up against her. Her pussy walls tightened up on him in response.

"Mmmmm, does that feel good to you, sweetheart?" She nodded vigorously, she couldn't speak and her thighs were trembling.

He would thrust hard against her and grind his hips against her with her trying to stay in place by holding onto the headboard, then smack her bottom at he pulled back…one side and then the other… and then rub the spot. She was so lost in his rhythm and how good it felt that her orgasm snuck up on her and she tightened up on him suddenly and yelled out.

"Fuck! I'm coming so fucking hard. You are fucking mine and don't you ever fucking forget that shit."

When she came that hard her walls tightened around him and coaxed his orgasm from him at the same time. He yelled out,

"Your pussy is fucking heaven on motherfucking earth!" They came together with him leaning over her back and holding onto her breasts for a full minute of shaking and swearing and sweating. She collapsed disconnecting herself from him and he fell to her side trying not to crush her. He immediately pulled her body as close to his as possible and when they started shivering from the air hitting their sweaty bodies he pulled the comforter over them.

They didn't say another word to each other for a few moments. Nothing needed to be said. They fell asleep in each other's arms both knowing that whatever had happened, or will happen, was not as important as what was happening to them at that moment. They had filled each other up in ways that nothing else could, but their connection to God. Their love felt spiritual.

****DBW****

Bella felt herself being carried and her senses were awakened by the smell of strawberries and vanilla. When she roused enough to realize she was being carried into Edward's bathroom, she smiled up at him and he lovingly kissed her forehead. He gingerly placed her in his Jacuzzi tub filled with their scents mixed together. The bubbles came up to the middle of her stomach. He tenderly eased her forward and got in behind her and the water rose over her breasts. He wrapped his arms around her torso and wrapped his legs around her legs. This man she loved with all of her heart was surrounding her with his body, the heat from the water and beautiful smells.

She inhaled deeply and leaned back into the security of his arms. She rubbed her wet and bubble covered hands over his arms and scooted her bottom back into him unintentionally rubbing up against his cock. She felt his response against her back and smiled.

He laughed and said into her ear, "I don't know what you're smiling about. I'm thirty-one years old, not seventeen. There's only so much a brotha can handle in one night."

She laughed and kissed his chin. They sat in silence because they knew they needed to have a serious conversation about what happened earlier.

"Edward."

"Hmmm?" He seemed relaxed, but she knew he knew he scared her before.

"Why do you have so many weapons?"

He hesitated for a second and started explaining,

"A gangbanger I arrested threatened me and the family a few years back. He said he was going to make me wish I was never born and there was gonna be a lot of slow singing and flower bringing at my funeral. I guess he was a into Biggie Smalls, or something. I didn't take it too seriously. I had been threatened before, so I almost forgot about it.

Anyway, about eight of them showed up at the gym strapped. Rose had just gone back to work and I was keeping Emily. She was just eighteen months old. I had to confront them to get them to leave and I only had my service revolver, my Glock and a taser. It was eight against one and I had to protect the baby. I thought I was going to die and the baby was going to be hurt or used as leverage in a kidnapping, or worse. I was all set to do what I had to do, but they didn't attack. The only thing that stopped it from being a blood bath was the fact that Enrique was there and they respected him. He told them to never come back because I was his family and they listened. I didn't ever want to be caught in that kind of scenario again, so I stocked up." He was running his fingers through her hair with one hand and softly rubbing her stomach with the other. She nodded her understanding, while internally trying to figure out how she could convince him to reduce his stash, since Amanda was in the house now. She knew it was pretty well hidden, but she still felt uncomfortable.

"Were you really going to kill that cop?" She asked quietly.

"Yes." Edward said that with no hesitation.

"You know that would've been a horrible and costly mistake, right?'

"Yes. I do now that I'm calm." He kissed every knuckle of both of her hands and trapped her hands between his.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you and scared you. I'll never do that shit again." He kissed her softly on her cheek.

"You better not." She jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow and he winced a little, but laughed.

He picked up bubbles and water in his cupped hands and poured it over her sex. She closed her eyes and leaned even further into him. He repeated that action over and over again. He picked up a bath sponge and poured a generous amount of strawberry scented body wash onto it. He kissed her neck and asked her to turn around and get on her knees just for a few moments so he could gently wash her from her front to her back. She felt so cherished when he took care of her like that.

They stayed in the tub for a while longer as he gently washed and rinsed her hair and stared up at the night sky through the skylight. Music was being piped throughout the house. She heard the raspy and deep sultry voice of a woman singing a soft and sexy jazz tune. She closed her eyes and asked,

"Who's that singing? I love this song."

"It's Cassandra Wilson. It's called '_You Move Me_.'" He tenderly ran his hands over her thighs and buried his face in her neck, as hummed along with the song.

"It looks like it's a really clear night." Bella mused as she looked up. "I love how you can look up and see the sky all throughout your house, but especially here. It's really beautiful."

He nuzzled her neck, "I used to think it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen until I met you."

She looked into his eyes to see if he was being facetious. The sincerity in what he said was reflected in the twinkle of his eyes. She breathed a sigh and thanked God silently that she met him. He made her feel so lovely and precious.

"Guess what, Edward?"

He smiled, "What?"

"Ang and Ben are married." She turned her head to see his reaction. His eyes widened for a moment and then he slowly smiled.

"Really?" She nodded and he laughed a little. "If Aunt Carmen doesn't know, he's gonna get one hell of an ass whooping when he gets home. She may be little, but she packs a mean punch. She kept his large behind in check growing up."

Bella laughed because she could imagine a Shirley-sized lady chasing after Ben with a belt when he was a kid, "She knows. Iris knows, too. Angela was staying with your aunt when Ben took her away."

He nuzzled her neck, "Well I'll be damned. When?"

"Two days ago in Vegas. Ang said they're still going to have a ceremony when she comes home, but they decided to go ahead and get married because they already knew they loved each other. She said to me that they decided, 'why wait' and ran off together." She was smiling and had intertwined her fingers with his.

Edward was silent for a moment then he said,

"Well, congratulations to them. I guess I have a new cousin now in your best friend."

He hugged her tightly to him and asked,

"What time is it?"

Her eyes searched around until she saw a digital clock on his bathroom counter,

"It's 9:30. You can't see that?" She turned her head to look at him.

He chuckled, "Nope. I need my glasses."

She squirmed a little remembering what he looked like the day of his press conference and TV interviews with his rose tinted no frame glasses. She thought they were very sexy on him. Then again, she thought everything about him was sexy.

"Stop squirming, puddin'. I need a break." He smooched her neck and she giggled and kicked her legs splashing water over the side.

"Now look at the mess you made. You must be punished." He tickled her under her ribs causing more water to splash. He stopped after she said uncle and he ran his hands through her hair.

"Do you think we could make it to Vegas and back on your plane before Pete gets here in the morning?"

She turned fully around in the tub and looked at his eyes. He was smiling at her.

"You better not be messing around with my emotions, Edward Anthony, because I would marry you in a heartbeat." She gasped at what just flew out of her mouth without any filter and waited for him to jump out of the water and run away screaming but he didn't. He just pulled her back to him and held her closely.

"So, you wouldn't want to draw up a prenup to protect all of your worldly possessions from me?"

She furrowed her brow at him, "Does it look like I give a shit about worldly possessions and pre-nups?"

He looked at her closely. He pulled his hands out of the water and held her face examining it from all angles.

"You're right. It doesn't look like you give a shit but that little mole on your nose is yelling for you to be sensible."

He smiled broadly at her and when she didn't return it he became worried,

"What's wrong, baby? You know I was just joking with you. The little bitty mole isn't a big deal. I think it's cute."

"Edward! I don't give a damn about the mole. Do you really think I would be stupid to trust you enough not to need a prenuptial agreement?" She was angry. He ran his finger down her cheek.

"That's why you're mad? I was just joking baby. I wouldn't have you sign a pre-nup, either. That's just stupid to me. It's like preparing for divorce. What the fuck is the point of getting married if you go into it preparing for splitting up?" She breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Besides, I already told you that whatever is mine is yours. That was a verbal agreement right there. See, it's too late for me." He smiled big at her and she kissed his cheek softly. She really adored this man.

"How much are you worth anyway, Mr. Mercedes SLS Amg. That car sells for over $100,000."

He looked up in the air like he was trying to calculate in his head, "Well, between the money that my dad helped me invest from my parent's life insurance and pension money, real estate, royalties from the music I've written and composed, my trusts from Shirley and Carlisle, my mother's portion of the Platt inheritance, the gym, and my salary as a detective, I'm worth about $430 million."

Bella's eyes widened and she stared at him with her mouth agape flabbergasted.

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Nope. I'm not. The biggest portion of it is from my mother's inheritance, but I haven't ever really touched that money. My grandparents cut all communication with my mom and didn't want anything to do with me and my dad because we were black, so I don't really want their money. I keep it anyway because Esme wanted me to have it."

"So, are you the reason Carlisle and Esme's house is so big?"

He chuckled at her and pinched her nose,

"Nooo. They wouldn't let me spend a dime on them, unless it was a gift of some sort. Esme has Platt Plastics money and her business that does very well. Carlisle is a retired doctor so he made a good living. He also patented some obstetric equipment and a few thoracic surgery instruments while he was in his residency. This was before he decided to switch his focus from cardiology to pediatrics. He has about fifty different patents that GE bought from him worth literally billions. I don't even really know how much Carlisle and Esme are worth, but I think it's close to four billion. Makes our little nest eggs look like chump change doesn't it?" He smiled at her, but her mouth was still agape.

"Carlise and Esme are worth billions of dollars?"

"Yep. Esme calls him her sugar daddy." He laughed and then he turned serious and shuddered like he was shaking his head of some bad imagery. She shook her head at how silly he is.

"Baby let's get out of the tub. We're starting to wrinkle. I'll still love your beautiful ass when it's wrinkly, but I'd rather that time in our lives to be later down the road than sooner, if you know what I mean?"

She slapped him on the shoulder, "You're such a jerk sometimes."

"Yeah, yeah, like I haven't heard that before."

****DBW****

They dried each other off and dressed for bed. He put on his sleeping pants and she put on one of his t-shirts and some underwear. They lay there and listened as the soundtrack from the movie _Love Jones_ shuffled randomly and repeated. They were on their backs side by side looking at the stars through the skylight with her head in the crook of Edward's shoulder. Bella asked a little amused about the song they were listening to,

"Did she say she's as hopeless as a penny with a hole in it?" He grinned and nodded, and then she added,

"That's pretty fucking hopeless."

They both laughed so hard it shook the bed.

"You can't even give somebody a penny for their thoughts." Edward added.

"You can't even give somebody your two cents on a subject." Bella giggled out.

"You can't even buy penny candy." He quipped.

Bella turned her head and looked at him with a questioning look, "Who sells penny candy anymore?"

He laughed loudly,

"You got me there."

He turned his body to face her with a worried look.

"Isabella, I have something I need to tell you."

She turned to face him with a pensive look, but told him to go ahead.

"I think I might be drawn to you physically for reasons other than your beauty."

She scoffed internally because she didn't think she was beautiful anyway, except when she was with him, so that didn't really matter.

"Okay. What other reasons are you drawn to me?"

"Your hair."

She was thoroughly confused and it showed on her face.

"Your hair is dark like the victims of the Night Stalker."

She shrugged and said, "I already know that, sweetie."

"Well, what you don't know is that I…stay with the corpses of the women after the medical examiner finishes his reports and I run my fingers through their hair and talk to them…apologize to them for not stopping this guy." He said all that very quickly and looked up at her through his eyelashes.

She could tell he was waiting to see if she was disturbed by what he said. She made sure her expression stayed neutral because she wanted him to stop being afraid to tell her things; even things that embarrassed him. She supposed this encouraged him to continue because he said,

"Well, I think I did that…do that….because I was trying to understand why something as uncontrollable as what color your hair is when you're born could be the cause of someone's death. It made me feel like I was soothing them somehow."

He wouldn't look at her. After what they had shared that night, she would never push him away. It would kill her.

She reached out and put one of her hands under his chin, prodding him to look at her.

"Edward, it's not unusual for people to talk to and touch the dead. People have done that for ages. Haven't you ever seen someone at a gravesite talking to the ground, or someone caress a loved one in the casket at a funeral and kiss them, or grab their hand?"

He smiled and nodded at her, but said,

"Yeah, but I always thought people that did that were a little touched in the head, too."

She laughed and kissed him softly on the lips.

"You think the only reason you like my hair is because you have some type of psychological problem."

He winced a little, but nodded his head. He looked like a scared little boy and she moved closer to him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Edward, you worry so much over little things. Do you think of dead women when we're together this way?"

He shook his head no vigorously.

"If I dyed it blond or red, would you stop loving me?" He smiled that lop-sided smile that she loved and waggled his eyebrows.

"No. I think I might even have a little wig-wearing fantasy about you now." She laughed and kissed his cheek.

"If I cut it, would you stop wanting me?" He gasped a little and ran his hands through her hair.

"No. I wouldn't stop wanting you, but would I get a vote on the hair-cutting thing? I love the length of your hair and how if falls right above the small of your back when it's down."

She wrinkled her nose and looked up like she was really considering what he asked.

"You would get a vote, but the hairdresser would have to be the tie-breaker, or maybe Alice."

He laughed and pulled her closer.

"So, you don't think I'm some kind of weirdo?" He looked at her anxiously awaiting her answer.

"Well, yeah, but not because you like my hair and talk to dead people. There's a whole bucket of crazy going on in that head, sweetheart."

He laughed and pulled her into a tight hug and ran his hands through her hair.

"Look who's talking, Wonder Woman."

She laughed and said,

"I love your hair, too. How long did it take to grow it this long?" She caressed his locks from the top of his head to the ends of his hair.

"I started growing my hair out the summer before college started, so that was 1997. So, I've had locks for thirteen years. They used to be much longer. My hair grows fast and it had grown down to the middle of my back by the time I finished undergrad and started the police academy. The training sergeant looked at me and started laughing. He said, 'You've got to be kidding me.'" He stopped and laughed at the memory.

"He told me my hair had to be able to fit under my uniform cap. So, I cut it so that the locks stayed shoulder length on top but my hair was shaved around the sides and in the back. It looked like I had a dread lock mohawk. I looked kind of crazy for a while. But, when I was assigned to my precinct and they saw my hair, they asked if I could grow it back out to do some undercover work. I agreed and within about five or six months it was the length it is now. I haven't let it get as long as it was before, in case I have to don my uniform again for some reason." He smiled at her.

"Hmm…I think I would love to see you in your uniform." She waggled her eyebrows at him.

He raised his head up and looked at her, "Oh yeah? I think I might have to dig it out then." He hugged her to him.

"I think I'd like to see you in my uniform shirt and nothing else, but those heels Alice got you and a smile." He waggled right back at her and she laughed.

"I might be able to do that for you."

Bella asked him what she had been putting off until he could talk about it without him getting angry again,

"Edward, what are we going to do about O'Keefe now that we've both agreed that killing him with your bare hands is not an option?"

He frowned a little and squeezed her, "We'll deal with that after we catch the Night Stalker, baby. Let's focus on one thing at a time, like Al said."

"Baby?"

"Hmmm?"

"I'm glad your mom had Amanda and she's here with us. I didn't mean to imply that she's not a blessing when I said that about your step-father not being in your life, if your dad was alive."

"I know what you meant. I know you love Amanda." She kissed his neck and let out a sigh of relief.

"Also, I'm sorry our first time was like this. I mean, I'm sorry it wasn't special and romantic and you were trying to talk me down from…hurting somebody." He gazed into her eyes apologetically.

"Will you please stop apologizing; especially not for tonight. I told you that it would be special because we already know we love each other. I tell you what…I'll never forget our first time together. Does that make it special to you?"

He nodded and smiled, "Yeah, I'll never forget our first time, either. You're special to me, so it makes any time we have special time. But, I thought most women liked romance, wining and dining?"

"Edward, sweetie, if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm not like most women."

He laughed heartily, "You are right about that. You are _my_ Isabella. All mine."

"You're all mine, too. _My_ Edward." He showed his agreement by kissing her softly on her lips and smiling at her.

She agreed and they fell asleep in each other's arms sated, resolute, happy and safe for the moment.

****DBW***

_**A/N: Thanks to everyone for reviewing and rec'ing this little story. :) Let me know if you like it. If you don't, tell me that, too. Have a great weekend everyone! :)**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**A/N: ATTENTION! ATTENTION! There will be lemons in this chapter. So, if you're sensitive to these things, I wanted to make you aware. **_

_**I'm sorry I didn't give everybody a heads up on the lemon in the last chapter. I didn't plan for their first time to be that way. It just came out like that and I thought it made more sense based on their situation. I was so happy just to be able to post those chapters that I forgot to put up the lemon alert. Charge it to my brain. It has its good days and its bad days. Happy reading everybody! **_

_**Also, I can never forget my amazing Beta and Pre-reader, Aniseed and Humble4. They are fabulous! xoxoxo  
**_

Chapter 18 – Jane

_mon·ster__ : __**1**__**: **__one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character __  
__**2: **__a threatening force __  
__**3: **__something monstrous ; __esp__**: **__a person of unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty_ - _**Merriam Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus**__**  
**_

He had woken at 2:30 a.m. and Isabella was wrapped around him like she was trying to hold him there in bed. She was practically sleeping on top of him with her arms held tightly around his waist and with both of her legs wrapped around one of his. It would've made him smile and go back to sleep if it weren't for the fact that she was whimpering and talking in her sleep.

_Don't go, Edward._

_We need you._

_Please._

_I love you._

Guilt washed over him like a tidal wave. He had made this lovely woman so afraid because of his behavior that she was having nightmares. He truly did deserve his nickname because he was a _monster_ in the truest sense of the word. He looked up the word once he got to his downstairs office just to make sure and he fit the description perfectly.

He had been so crazy with anger that he truly wanted to kill. His tiny Isabella wrapped herself around him and did everything in her power to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life. He didn't even think mistake was the right word because nothing he would've done to Liam O'Keefe would've been a mistake or accidental. She prevented him from making a horrible decision was a better way to phrase it. She loved his anger and pain away.

He couldn't even feel as happy about that as he should have been. He had managed to wriggle free of Isabella's vice grip by lightly tickling her and softly sliding his leg from between hers. Once he had a chance to really look at her, he was horrified. Her shirt had ridden up and right above her panty line was a long bruise. He placed his finger next to the bruise and it was a perfect match. He slowly eased down her panty and marks from the rest of his fingers were there. He gasped and covered his mouth with his hand. She told him she wasn't fragile, but there should've been something in his brain that knew to take it easy on her.

As he sat in his office looking at the hole he made in the wall with the doorknob, he knew that he was officially out of control. Bringing a contractor in to fix the hole in the wall was just more of a headache for Jasper. He couldn't even help his partner as well as he should have been. He looked at the board full of the pictures of the victims of the Night Stalker. He had placed Heidi Brunelli's picture above theirs as the true first victim. Isabella's picture was below. He reached out and traced her face with his fingers.

The other women had bruises and marks to show for their time with the Night Stalker. Isabella had bruises from her time with him. The only difference was that she was alive in his bed upstairs and the killer had ended their lives. That didn't make him any less of a monster than the Night Stalker, in his mind.

He leaned back in his office chair and closed his eyes. He figured he could stay down there and maybe sleep on the couch until he could sort out his issues in his head. It was too early in the morning to call Jacob and get his recommendation on a therapist. He didn't want to call his father this early in the morning because that would just upset him and Esme.

Suddenly, he felt small warm hands touch his shoulders and arms wrap around his neck. She placed little butterfly kisses on his cheek. He sighed because it felt so good to have her near him, but he felt that he was doing more damage than good to her life. He grabbed one of her hands and gently tugged her around to stand in front of him. She cupped his face after he released her hand.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" She tried to climb in his lap, but he stopped her.

"Isabella, I want to show you something." He guided her to the bathroom on the first floor and placed her in front of him so she could see herself in the mirror. He pulled her shirt up and slid one side of her panty down so she could see her hip. He pointed at her bruises and then placed his hand over it to show her what he had done to her.

She smiled. She actually smiled. He looked at her like she was insane.

"Isabella, what are you smiling about? I hurt you. You should be yelling at me and trying to leave me. What is going on in your head right now?" He was anxious that she might actually listen to him. Yet a part of him was hoping that she would listen to him and take Amanda and run away to one of her many homes.

She turned around and looked at him with her hands on her hips, "Edward, when we fell asleep, you had a smile on your face. Now, you look like you lost your best friend. What happened?"

"You were having nightmares about me." He wanted her to understand the situation she was in.

"I was having bad dreams about you leaving me because I don't ever want you to do that again…in any way. It made me panic a little when I woke up and you weren't there. That's why I came looking for you." She looked into his eyes in the way she usually does. It was a searching look.

"I don't understand you. You don't think that leaving marks on your skin from being too rough with you is abusive?"

"Edward, I asked you not to be gentle with me. I told you I'm not fragile and I'm not. I bruise easily sometimes, but I'm not fragile. I can't even feel these marks. I'm not in any pain. If you hadn't pointed them out, I probably wouldn't have even noticed them."

He looked at her skeptically.

"I'm not kidding. This is nothing. They'll probably be gone by the end of the day tomorrow."

"Okay, but you can't ask me to go harder with you again. I have to be gentle with you, since you bruise easily."

She looked disappointed.

"Edward, please don't make a big deal out of this. Last night was really special to me and I love what we did together. It breaks my heart that you're beating yourself up over a few love marks."

"Love marks? If a woman came to me with these same marks and said she was…sexually assaulted, it would be solid evidence for a conviction."

She smiled big, "I don't think I'll press charges."

He frowned and shook his head at her.

"Better yet, if you had come to me and showed me these marks that some guy put on you, I would hunt him down and beat his ass."

She laughed loudly and put her hand over her mouth.

"Isabella, baby, what are you laughing at?"

"You do realize that you just threatened to beat your own ass?" He couldn't help but laugh at her, but he turned serious again.

"Edward, please come back to bed. Please. Don't sit around brooding down here. I want to feel you next to me. It's cold when you're not in bed with me."

She said please so he had to follow. His body was under her control. He vowed to himself that no matter how she felt about it, he would never handle her roughly again. She's so tiny and vulnerable and he wanted to show her in every way how precious she was. That was his new goal.

****DBW****

While he was half-awake, he kept feeling the most sensational moist heat around his cock and counting in between licks and sucks,

"Onnneee, two-ooooo, threeee…"

He awakened fully because he needed to know if he was dreaming, or if what he thought was happening was really happening.

He heard Isabella giggling and he turned his head to look for her. He didn't see her but he saw movement under the comforter. He heard the giggle again and moaned deeply because he was fully alert. Her hot wet mouth had taken him in again. He lifted the comforter so he could see her.

"Isabella, baby, what are you doing down there?" He didn't want her to stop, he was just asking.

She released him and her head with the sex hair peeked out from under the comforter with a huge mischievous grin on her face.

"If you keep asking me that, I'm going to get really self-conscious. However, I'm trying to find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of my tootsie roll tootsie pop." She giggled and ducked back under the cover.

He laughed and pulled her back up to him.

"What is going on with you this morning, sexy lady? You know Amanda is coming home. We don't want the girl to be traumatized, baby." He kissed her deeply and flipped them over so that she was underneath him.

She playfully pouted, "No fair! Go back to sleep. I was in the middle of an experiment. Besides, it's only 6:00 and we have plenty of time."

He smiled adoringly at her,

"We do, huh? Well, I won't interrupt you, then. Just do me one favor and never, ever, ever call my dick a tootsie roll tootsie pop in public, okay? I'm already crying and passing out. No man needs that kind of humiliation. That would just make me into a complete wuss. Right now, I'm just a partial wuss." He blew a raspberry on her stomach and she kicked and giggled because it was so ticklish.

They stayed and played in bed, until they absolutely had to get up at seven. Bella discovered that it takes five licks to accomplish her goals and make Edward promise to give her every dime in his bank account. She didn't think the candy company would appreciate her study or want to publish her findings. Edward agreed with a smile on his sweaty flushed face that the experiment was too subjective and didn't have a large enough sample population to be conclusive. Despite that, she felt her experiment was a success.

****DBW****

He carried her into the shower where they continued their morning play,

"Isabella, it's a good thing we're in this shower because I'm discovering that you are a really, really dirty girl. I'll probably have to be in charge of your cleanliness from now on, since you don't seem to be in the right frame of mind to get the job done." He stalked towards her like a lion that's caught sight of its prey.

"Uhmm…excuse me Detective Tootsie Roll, but you're not the boss of me. I can be as dirty as I want." She let him catch her and she kissed him on the middle of his chest and wiggled under his arm and bit him on the butt cheek. It was slippery in the shower and with her curse of clumsiness she was sure to fall if she wasn't in his arms. At least, that's the excuse she made up in her head.

"Ow!" He feigned extreme pain from the little nip she gave him. "Tsk tsk…I see I'm gonna have to put you over my knee and give you a spanking?"

She laughed hard and started kicking her legs as he lifted her and threw her over his shoulder. She was slapping and pinching his butt as he carried her to the bench in the shower and he put her over his knees as if he was going to spank her.

"Wait a minute! Time out! I will not be spanked, mister. I do have some dignity."

He made it seem like he was going to let her stand up, then he shook his head and pulled her back over his knees.

"No. This is for your own good, Isabella Marie. No more experiments at 6:00 in the morning." He smacked her bottom lightly making sure he didn't bruise her and she was still kicking her legs and trying to cover her butt with her hands. He was laughing watching her and he bent down and playfully bit her between her neck and shoulder.

"Ow! What are you Count Dracula? I will not be bitten, Detective Tootsie Roll. I have my limits."

He was laughing at how playful she was with him. He really adored her. He bit her again and smacked her bottom softly and she squealed and giggled.

"That's one! One smack on the bottom. Ha, ha, ha, ha, haaaa!" He said that with the most horrible Transylvanian accent,

He smacked her lightly on the other cheek and said, "That's two! Two smacks on the bottom. Ha, ha, ha, ha, haaa!"

She was laughing hysterically at this point, "I said Count Dracula, not the Count from Sesame Street, you nut!"

He chuckled at her, "Oh! My bad. I guess I misunderstood."

He smacked her bottom again, "That's three! Three smacks on the bottom. Ha, ha, ha, ha, haaa!"

She wiggled free from him and straddled his waist. Her center was positioned right over his cock and he groaned and thrust up into her. She moved her hips back and forth over him and sucked on his neck softly and lightly bit the same spot.

"Hmmm…I thought I was the vampire in this situation." He leaned his head back and smiled at her dreamily and his twinkly hazel-green eyes seemed content with a tinge of hunger. The warm water was running down both of their faces and bodies from the large rain-shower shower head. He had also turned on the waterfall feature because he liked the soothing sound of it.

"You turned me, remember? You must be getting senile in your old vampire age. What are you two hundred years old or something? Get with it, grandpa." She smiled at him and sucked on his cheek right under his high cheekbone.

"I'm one-hundred one, I'll have you know, and I think what you said was classic ageism." He gently placed her back over his knee and smacked her bottom again softly because he knew she liked it no matter how much she wiggled.

"You must say, 'I will never discriminate against elderly vampires again.'"

She held up two fingers and said, "Scouts honor! I will never talk about AARP candidates again, grandpa vampire." She had her other fingers crossed behind her back.

Edward laughed so hard he almost dropped her.

"I'm pretty sure you weren't a Scout. You held up the wrong hand, faker. Take your punishment like a woman and stop wiggling."

She wiggled free and straddled him again. She kissed his chest, his chin and his lips. She rubbed her sex against him and said,

"I think you should prove your virility, Count, before I leave you for Gary Oldman, or that Robert Pattinson; he's kind of cute. Even Eddie Murphy in _Vampire in Brooklyn_ was kind of sexy." She put her hand on her chin like she was contemplating being with them.

He playfully scowled at her, "Ooooh, you're threatening to leave me for a younger vampire; is that how it is?"

She nodded and sucked her bottom lip between her teeth.

He sucked her bottom lip out of her teeth's grasp with his kiss. He picked her up and slid her slowly onto himself. When he was fully sheathed inside of her they both moaned at the warmth of their electric connection. She grabbed on to his shoulders to hold on.

"You're not leaving me for another vampire; especially not Gary Oldman. He's way older than me." He smiled at her lovingly and softly kissed her lips.

He controlled the motion of their bodies by moving her gently up and down his shaft. When he would bring her down he would thrust up and move his hips in a circle against her making sure he stimulated her clit. He was trying to be as gentle as possible. Thinking of her as a balloon that could pop at any minute or a crystal champagne glass with only a bubble sleeve over it put him in the right mindset. He still thought she may have been a little sore from the bruises no matter what she said and it had been a while for her. The word 'gentle' was his new mantra for how he dealt with his Isabella.

She had closed her eyes and her head had fallen back giving him access to her exquisitely long neck and the sweet hollow above her collar bone. He dipped his tongue into the hollow and sucked gently.

"Uhhhh, I love it when you kiss me there."

"Where, baby?"

"The spot. The spot where you're kissing me right now."

"Is that a sweet spot for you, puddin'?"

She nodded and opened her eyes and he became lost in her chocolate gaze. Water was falling over her hair and trails of water were trickling down her breasts. Her skin was flushed pink and her breathing was heavy. He followed a trail of water, sucking one of her erect nipples into his mouth before letting his tongue languidly drag back and forth across it, gently kissing it before he tried to suck as much of the same breast into his mouth as he could. He moved lazily over to the other breast and did the same thing never stopping his thrusts and making sure he was as gentle as possible.

"Shit! That feels good!" She moaned out and dug her hands into his hair and held on to his head forcing him to stay there and keep doing what he was doing.

Her walls tightened on him and he knew she was about to come at any minute. He kept licking and sucking gently on her breasts. He reached between them and gently ran the pad of his thumb over her clit. She shook violently and her walls clamped down on his cock.

"Uuuungghhh…Why is everything with you so fucking intense?" She muttered and mumbled out through her orgasm.

"It's you and me, baby. This is love we're making. I think it's supposed to be intense." He uttered those words with a raspy voice after his own erratic thrusts ended in a powerful release. He had never felt anything this intense with anyone, either. He also had never been with a woman without wearing a condom. She was his first in a lot of ways.

They sat there holding each other while the water went from hot to lukewarm. They had only been in the shower twenty minutes. Time seemed to slow down when they were together and it felt like it had been longer."

What time is it, sweetie?"

He looked at the digital clock on the bathroom counter. It was much closer to them in the shower than in the bath the night before so he could actually see it.

It's 7:25."

Bella's eyes widened and she carefully disconnected from him, which caused him to feel bereft and whimper a little. She started to wash herself quickly and when she finally looked at Edward, he was sitting there watching her with a little pout on his face. She smiled and held out her hand for him and he came willingly.

"I have to be downstairs and dressed for when Amanda gets here, my love. You make me forget I have responsibilities sometimes." She smiled up at him and kissed the tattoo over his heart.

He nodded with complete understanding, kissed the top of her head and started to wash himself.

"I have to leave earlier than you do. You made my ADD kick in, too. You're a dangerous woman, Isabella Swan."

She kissed his stomach after she finished washing and jumped out of the shower by 7:40. She may have set a record for getting dressed and putting her hair into a wet ponytail. By the time she ran downstairs, it was 7:45 and Alice was sitting in the kitchen with Amanda. They were both eating bowls of Honey Nut Cheerios. Bella felt utterly embarrassed that she didn't meet them at the door.

"Good morning, you two. How long have you been here?"

Alice smiled a devilish smirk as Amanda jumped up and hugged Bella hello, "Oh, we've only been here for about five minutes. I guess you were in the shower and you didn't hear us. Where's Edward?"

Bella knew from the look on her face that she knew exactly where Edward was and she gave her a squinty-eyed look that promised revenge before she replied.

"He's getting dressed for the day. He'll be down in a few minutes." Her cheeks turned completely red.

Alice smiled around her spoon full of cereal, nodded and winked at her. Bella rolled her eyes and did the walk of shame over to the cereal bowls so she could join them.

"Bella Boo, how do you like the outfit that Aunt Alice helped me pick out for school today?"

She jumped up and twirled around to model her outfit. She had on blue jeans with red ballet flats and a red square ruffle-necked cotton shirt with short puffy sleeves that tightened around her arms at the bottom of the sleeve with elastic. The shirt flared out at the bottom and it had a high roman-inspired waist line with a cute bow in the back that gathered it together. Her hair was in a neat ponytail. She looked really cute and age appropriate for school. Bella smiled and mouthed a thank you to Alice.

"Alice picked out the shoes but I picked out everything else." She smiled proudly at Bella.

"You did? Well, what happened to my baby sister? This is a big girl outfit. You look very pretty, sis…very stylish." Bella watched as Amanda's face broke out into the brightest grin she had ever seen on her.

"Really? Thanks, Bella Boo! I like it a lot. This shirt is so pretty that I wanted to wear it every day, but Aunt Alice said I have to wash it and try new looks. She said that's what girls do, but I told her that you wear the same thing all of the time and you're a girl."

Alice stifled a guffaw and focused on her cereal while Bella gave her the stink eye.

"Well, Alice is definitely right about you not being able to wear the shirt every day and having to wash it." She kissed Amanda as she put her bowl in the sink and pinched Alice's side as she walked past. She yelped and giggled. Bella was watching Amanda and Alice pondering why it was taking them so long to eat a bowl of cereal when Edward walked into the kitchen.

He placed his hand over his heart, "Oh my goodness! Three pretty ladies all in the same place. I don't think my heart can take it."

They all smiled at him and Amanda jumped out of the chair and hugged his legs. He picked her up and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Do you like my outfit? Bella Boo said I look like a big girl." She was smiling hugely at him and he set her down to take a good look at his little Manda Bear.

"Well, let's see. Do a model turn for me, sweetie-pie."

She put her hand on her little hip and spun around so that her shirt flared out at the bottom.

He started clapping with a look of mock astonishment on his face,

"Go girl! That's fabulous. Can you do a runway strut for us?" Alice and Bella were laughing at him.

She eagerly complied and walked back and forth in front of them with little flares of her hand and she slung her ponytail around.

They were all laughing and he said,

"You look adorable, Manda Bear. Don't grow up too fast or I won't be able to give you any horsey rides." He feigned heartache.

Her eyes got big and she said,

"I'm not really a big girl. Bella Boo just said I look like a big girl. See? You still owe me one."

He nodded his understanding, smiled and smooched her on the cheek. She giggled and climbed back in her chair to finish her cereal.

He grabbed a bowl and sat down next to Bella. His hand immediately searched out hers and when he found it he felt whole again. He sighed with relief and dug into his cereal. He finished his cereal within a few minutes and got up to set the bowl in the sink. He would load up the dishwasher later. As he walked back to the table, he noticed Amanda and Alice still eating and talking. He gave Bella a questioning look and she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. She didn't understand why it was taking them so long to eat, either.

As soon as Edward sat down the intercom buzzed. He jumped up to answer,

"Cullen."

"_Hey, man. It's Pete."_

"I'll be right down."

He grabbed his keys and went out the door for the stairwell. A few minutes later he was back in the loft with Peter. He smiled at the ladies. The chalk board was still there from the day before and Amanda was all set to start class.

"Pete, do you want some cereal?" Bella asked.

He shook his head no.

"No. Thank you. Charlotte already fed me a huge breakfast before she left for work this morning. I'm still stuffed. I guess she thinks I'm going off to war or something and I won't eat a good meal for a while."

They all chuckled as he patted his stomach.

Bella felt guilty because she felt she should've done the same for Edward and she looked at him with the most pitiful look on her face. He chuckled, grabbed her face and kissed her nose. He leaned in and whispered in her ear,

"You fed me in several different ways. I'm full, baby." She gave him a look of relief and smiled. She made a mental note that she would feed him a good breakfast the next day.

The intercom buzzed again.

"Cullen."

"_It's Whitlock. I'm coming up."_

He gave Jasper a key. Even if he hadn't, he had access to Alice's, so he figured he might as well let him have his own. When Whitlock walked in, he knew it was his cue to leave. He grabbed his belt holster and stuck it in the back of his jeans under his button down, as he already had on his shoulder holster and his communication devices. He said his good-byes to everyone and kissed his Isabella good-bye to hold him until he saw her in a couple of hours.

"Be careful, baby. Keep your head up and watch what's going on around you. You'll be there before you know it."

She kissed him again chastely on his soft pillow-like lips,

"I'll be fine. Before you know it, you'll look up and I'll be there."

They both heard gagging and Alice's bell-like voice,

"Please, we just finished eating."

Alice and Amanda were making gagging sounds and Jasper and Peter were laughing at them.

Edward nodded accepting the ribbing,

"Okay. I guess I deserve that after all these years of my teasing. Just don't embarrass my baby, Mae Mae, or I'll have to tell her how long you wore that training bra."

Bella tried to stifle a laugh as Alice gasped and threw a pillow at him from off of the couch. He heard Amanda ask, "What's a training bra?" He chuckled and walked out pumping his fist and saying to himself,

"Operation 'Embarrass Mae Mae' complete."

****DBW****

Edward walked swiftly towards the restaurant because he had so many things he had to do before Isabella came in. He needed to call a contractor and explain to Jasper why he needed to send someone into the apartment that didn't have security clearance. He had a feeling Jasper was going to tell him to put that off for a while. He also needed to look up Liam O'Keefe in the CPD database and see if he can get a picture of him. Edward was wondering if Charles Swan had hidden something at his home in Forks when he saw her…the woman from the video, standing outside of the diner talking to a petite brunette woman with a backpack slung over her shoulder.

Edward's breathing almost stopped. He spoke into his communication device.

"_Look alive, people. I'm going to need back up at Shirley's Diner, ASAP. The woman from the surveillance tape is standing in front of the restaurant talking to a potential victim of the Night Stalker. The woman from the video is a white female, about 5' 8," 25-30 years of age, wearing black jeans, a white t-shirt, and black running shoes that could be Nike. She has dark hair parted down the middle and she's wearing a black collar around her neck. No sirens, just lights."_

Edward unsnapped both of his holsters and discreetly took the safety off both guns. He didn't want to take his eyes off this bold woman, so he didn't bother with his ankle holster. He approached the two women as discreetly as possible before he said,

"Good morning, ladies. I'm Detective Cullen, Chicago P.D." He moved his button-down shirt aside that he had completely unbuttoned showing his black Chicago P.D. t-shirt and showed them his badge that was attached to his belt.

They both looked up at him. The petite brunette woman was startled. The woman from the surveillance tape was not. She was smirking at him, which made the hairs on his arms rise. Then she said,

"Well, if it isn't Detective Cullen. How are you this fine morning?" She had a raspy voice like a person that smoked two packs of cigarettes a day, but he didn't smell any cigarette smoke on her.

He looked at the other woman and asked,

"Miss, please go inside the restaurant and have a seat…now. I have a few questions for you after I finish talking to your new friend here." The warning he was giving her through his eyes must have sunk in because she nodded and scurried away quickly into the restaurant.

He looked to the other woman and said,

"You know my name, but I haven't had the pleasure of your acquaintance. Your name is?"

He stood waiting and ready for anything and wondering where the hell everyone else was.

"My name is not important, detective. What's important is that you know that, no matter what you do, we can always get to who we want and what we want."

He searched her face and all the skin that was exposed. He didn't see anything that could distinguish her…no tattoos, no scars…nothing. She had on those dark sunglass that even covered up her eyebrows and lipstick that was almost black.

Just as he was about to tell her that she was being taken into custody for questioning, two squad cars showed up and Jasper and Lisa jumped out of an unmarked car. Lisa had her wig on. Edward turned his head for a second and the woman sprinted off. Edward took off after her along with the squad cars and Jasper and Lisa on foot.

Edward wasn't a record setter by any means, but he was very fast. If it weren't for his commitment to music, he would've joined the track team as a sprinter when he was off season from football in high school. The coach had even tried to persuade him by telling him a track scholarship was just as good as any of the others. He was not going to give up his music for track, so he politely turned him down. He hadn't met anybody personally that could outrun him and especially not a woman.

However, he couldn't keep up with this woman. He almost caught her when they rounded a corner of a high school, Kenwood Academy, where students were milling around and waiting for second period to start. The woman dodged in between students and ran through the teacher's parking lot. When she got to a high chain link fence, she scaled the thing and jumped over it in three seconds flat. Edward hit the gate completely confused. She turned around with that same smirk, hardly out of breath and dashed off going south on Blackstone Avenue. He spoke into his communication device letting them know which way she headed. He doubted that they would catch her. She was probably headed someplace crowded, like the Museum of Science and Industry. It was only about a mile away. With the way she was sprinting, she could be there in four minutes. As he turned around Lisa and Jasper finally caught up out of breath.

Edward turned around in a panic, "Who's watching Isabella, Amanda, and Alice right now?"

Jasper responded right away, "Two officers I trust took my place when I left. They're safe Edward." He said that between breaths with his hands on his knees.

Edward put the safety on his pieces and snapped his holsters.

"What the fuck was that? I'm not trying to be an ass, Lisa, but that woman shouldn't have been able to outrun me."

Lisa responded quickly,

"I don't know for sure if that was a man or a woman, Cullen, but I know for sure that person was definitely wearing a wig." She said between ragged breaths.

"How do you know?" He asked anxiously.

She breathed in deeply trying to catch her breath, "It shifted when she spun around and took off like she did. I saw blond underneath. I believe she's a blond."

Edward pulled at his dread locks with both hands in frustration.

"I have to go back to the diner and talk to that young woman she was talking to. I'll meet up with you guys later." He jumped in one of the squad cars that pulled up with Lisa and Jasper and had the officer drive him back to _Shirley's._

He let all the officers looking for her know that she was wearing a wig and her real hair was blond, so they would be able to expand their search.

****DBW****

He walked into the diner and his eyes honed in on the young lady sitting at a booth with a uniformed officer. As soon as he approached, the officer stood up. Edward saw that the young woman's hands were shaking and she looked as pale as a ghost.

"Did she say anything to you, officer?"

The man looked nervously at Edward and said, as though he were confessing,

"She didn't say anything to me, but I let her know she could've been the next victim of the Night Stalker if the police hadn't come."

Edward's jaw flexed and he said as calmly and patiently as he could, "That's not your job officer. Your job, in this case, was to get as much personal information about her as you can until a detective arrives to question her. Did you do that?"

"Uhh…yeah, I have all of her information written down here." He showed him a small pad with notes written on it. He tore off what he had and handed it to Edward.

"Thanks. Can you wait here in case we have to take her in to the station for any reason."

"Yeah, I'll be right outside." He scampered away and Edward tried to let the officer's mistake roll off his back.

"Hello, miss. I introduced myself before, but I just wanted to reiterate that I'm Detective Edward Cullen and I needed to ask you a few questions. I see here that your name is Sasha Edwards and you're in your first year at the University of Chicago."

She nodded and then blurted out, "Did you catch her?"

He tried to hide his sneer, "No. We didn't…I didn't catch her but, that's where you come in. Can you tell me what you talked about with the woman? Did she give you a name?"

"She told me her name was Raven and that she liked my hair." The girl looked down a little embarrassed. "I'm from Minnesota. I've seen people that look like her in Minneapolis once, but I was…curious about her."

"Well, I was born and raised in Chicago and she would've piqued my curiosity, too." He patted her hand to ease her embarrassment. "What else did she say?"

"She said that there's a club she knows of that would be happy to have me as a member. She didn't name the club or anything. I haven't really made many friends, or been out at all since I've been here. I was waiting to hear what she had to say before you came along, Detective."

"Do you think if you saw her face in a picture that you'd recognize her?" He figured that it would be a useless exercise because he didn't think he would recognize her if he went through the mug shot database and he was trained to do so.

"I can try, sir." She looked eager to help and she still seemed frightened.

"You can call me Edward. May I call you, Sasha?" She nodded and seemed to relax a little more.

"Ok, Sasha. This is what I want you to do. I want you to ride with the officer that was sitting with you earlier to the station to look through some mug shots and the officer will write an official report basically giving us a record of what you told me today. It shouldn't take long. Do you have classes today?"

She shook her head no. She looked so scared and alone. He wanted to make her feel at ease with him.

"I graduated from U of C. It's a great school." She smiled big at him and he patted her hand again. "Here's my card with my contact information. This is my personal cell number. You call that number if you see that woman again or anything suspicious. If you can think of anything you forgot to tell me, please call me any time."

She looked at the card and nodded. She looked up embarrassed again and her cheeks turned red, which reminded him of his Isabella so he smiled.

"Can I ask you something that may sound kind of stupid?"

"You can ask me anything. The only type of question that's stupid is the one you don't ask."

She smiled more reassured. "I know you're a detective and everything, but are you a movie star or a model or something, too? Haven't I seen you on TV?"

He chuckled and blushed a little, "Well, you probably saw me speak at a press conference about the Night Stalker. That's probably where you remember me from. I'm not a movie star or a model. Those industries have much higher standards than that." He smiled and winked at her.

She blushed again and he chuckled.

"I gave the TV station some talking points, Sasha, to keep women safe and one of them was to try your best not to walk alone and the other was to try your best not to be isolated with a stranger. I know you said you don't know that many people. Maybe you can try to join a club or two at school. That way you won't feel so isolated. I think they also have programs for first year students, where you can get yourself a mentor. Also, talk to your RA. I think they plan socials and things like that for students in the dorms. How do those ideas sound?"

She seemed to be considering his ideas.

"Yeah, it's not good for me to be alone so much, obviously. I think I may try to join something."

"I'm surprised you don't have a roommate." He was genuinely taken aback by that. First year students rarely were allowed to have single rooms at most universities.

"I do, but she's very much the social butterfly and she has a boyfriend. She's rarely there."

He nodded his understanding and shook her hand as they walked out to the waiting squad car.

"Well, I'm here a lot. This is my grandmother's restaurant. So, if you want to just hang out, this is probably the safest place, despite today's activities. There's always someone here that can keep you safe, Sasha."

She finally seemed to relax as he put her in the squad car and asked the officer to please type up an official statement and show her the mug shot database. He told him that if she runs across anything familiar to call him and get a robbery/homicide detective to come over and gather more information from her. He nodded and he drove away with Sasha Edwards, a survivor, in his back seat.

****DBW****

Edward made the call he was dying to make ever since he saw the woman standing in front of his grandmother's diner.

"_Hello?"_

"Isabella?"

"_No. It's Alice. Edward?"_

"Mae Mae, where's Isabella? Why are you answering her phone?"

"_She's getting ready to leave for work for the day and she left her phone on the ottoman. Jasper told me what happened."_

"How is she? Is she more nervous? Does she want to go to work? She can stay home if she wants to."

"_Hello. Have you met, Isabella Marie Swan? She's more determined than ever to go to work because she thinks you're getting closer to catching this guy and this'll all be over soon."_

He cursed under his breath. He should've known that she wouldn't have a normal reaction to an assistant of a serial killer being chased away from her job. He just wished for once she could be selfish and not worry about helping everyone else.

"Mae Mae, tell her to be careful and I will be waiting by the door for her to come in to the diner, please. Are the two uniformed officers still there?"

"_No. Jasper sent them back out on the street. Edward, it's going to be okay. I'll tell her. We'll get through this."_

"Mae Mae, I envy you so much. It must be nice to feel like you know something for sure. I love you, Munchkin. Please tell Isabella what I told you."

"_Will do, Edward and I love you, too. I'll be working from here today. By the way, what happened to the wall in your office, hothead? _

"Uhmm…I got some news that made me very angry last night. Isabella helped me. I'll get the wall fixed. It's obviously not a priority now." He really didn't want to rehash the news that made him want to kill the night before.

"_That hole is not that big at all. If you have any wall putty, I can fix it up and paint it while I'm here today. By the way, Jasper is picking me up and we'll be at Shirley's instead of Naperville tonight."_

"Look in the pantry by the laundry room. I think there's some putty in there. It's good to know you'll be close by tonight."

"_Bye, my Edward._"

"Bye, my Mae Mae."

****DBW****

It was 9:30 when he hung up with Alice. His Isabella should be there in about twenty minutes. He planted himself in a booth right by the window and looked out of it anxiously waiting to see her tiny frame. The bell rang over the pastry shop door and Lisa McNichols walked in. She pulled down her glasses and winked as she walked past Edward. He smiled and nodded as she kept walking and sat in what was becoming her regular booth.

Charlotte came and sat across from him. He was really happy to see her and he had wanted to thank her for loaning her husband out to him for the longest.

"Hey, EJ. You took off in a flash this morning. I looked up one second and you were charming the ladies and the next second you were gone."

He chuckled at her,

"Well, I don't know if I did such a good job charming them since one took off running like a bullet and the other was sitting in here scared shitless."

She laughed and patted his hand,

"That's what I love about you, EJ. Wherever you go, excitement follows."

"I could do with a little less excitement, Char. I never got a chance to thank you for letting Peter help us out with Amanda."

She guffawed loudly,

"Well, at least _you_ know I'm in charge. I have yet to get that through Peter's thick skull."

"We all know what time it is. Pete might talk a good game when he doesn't agree with you, but you have him wrapped around your little finger. He's at your mercy."

She smiled softly,

"Well, how can that be? He has me wrapped around his finger, too. How do we ever get anything done?"

He laughed, "It's a mystery, lady. It's a mystery."

Her face lit up, "Maybe he can write a book about it."

Edward laughed loudly at that one. She always knew how to make him laugh and feel at ease.

"Maybe he can. I think you inspire a lot of his work, anyway."

She nodded and said, "I think I do, too. Speaking of someone being wrapped around a person's finger, here comes the love of your life."

He turned his head quickly and saw her tiny figure approaching. He slid out of the booth and stood by the door, anxiously and Charlotte patted him on the shoulder and walked away. He saw the two undercovers behind her, but Lisa was already in the diner, so there was no unmarked car following her. There was a squad car sitting on the corner where she could be gotten to easily. His heart was beating more rapidly by the second. He checked rooftops, he looked both ways down the street and he tried to focus on the cars she passed.

When she finally reached the diner door he opened it for her and beckoned her to follow him to the area by the restrooms. He pulled her into such a bone crushing hug as soon as they were relatively alone that he pulled her off of her feet. He kissed her deeply pulling her tongue into his mouth. Eventually he released her and set her down and dug his hands into her hair and caressed it from the roots to her ends. She had a half-dazed smile on her face.

"Wow. Hello to you, too. What did I do to deserve that greeting? I want to make sure I do it every day."

"Trust me. I don't want what happened today that made me kiss you like that to ever happen again."

He grabbed her face in both hands, "I really, really love you, Isabella."

She looked at him in all seriousness and said, "I really, really love you, too, Edward."

They stood like that for a minute and he finally broke the spell,

"I have to go upstairs and you need to get to work. Remember the signal?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Of course I do…apron off means restroom break."

He hugged her again, "Okay, baby. I'll let you go."

She walked off to start her work day and he walked through the front door to walk up to Shirley's apartment.

****DBW****

Edward was going over the surveillance from that morning when his phone buzzed.

"Cullen."

"_Hey son."_

"Hey pop. What's happening?"

_He heard hesitation on the other end, "I got a very interesting call this morning."_

"Oh yeah? I guess we're both having interesting mornings." He chuckled, but his father didn't laugh.

"What's wrong, pop?"

"_I got a call from Jane Volturi. She's goes by Jane Anderson now. She called collect and I accepted. I was…curious. She wants to talk to you about the Night Stalker case, EJ."_

He gasped because this was the last thing he expected to hear from anybody today, "Pop, if she wanted to talk to me, why did she call you collect?"

"_I was her doctor, briefly. I think she felt I was…trustworthy or something."_

"You were Jane Volturi's doctor?" Edward couldn't understand why his father would see that woman as a patient.

"_Well, I didn't know she was a Volturi when I accepted her as my patient and she requested me as her regular doctor after she was arrested. She was in jail awaiting trial because her brothers-in-law had a tight hold on the family purse strings and they wouldn't allow Jane to bail out." _

"What?" Edward couldn't believe Carlisle accepted her request after she murdered his father.

"_She had a little boy. I never knew his name. My job ended when she gave birth and I was able to declare her healthy enough to be cared for by the county medics."_

Edward couldn't speak because he was afraid he was going to say something horrible to his pop. He knew Carlisle loved his father. There had to be a rational explanation.

"_Edward, it was my duty. She was just a kid. Her I.D. said she was twenty-one, but I think she may have really just made eighteen and this wasn't her first pregnancy."_

"Pop, she shot and killed my father! She shot him in the head! He saved her from her own fucking husband and she shot him! Fuck duty! I thought my father was like a brother to you?"

"_Edward Cullen, if you talk to me like that for one more second I will come into the city right now and kick your ass. We can have it out in the ring at your gym if you want it that way. I loved your father! I am a doctor. That girl needed someone to help her and she requested me, so I did my job. You may not agree with my decision, but saying no to her wouldn't have brought your father back to us. He tried to save her, so I tried to help her, too."_

Edward had tears streaming down his face…again which pissed him off even more, "Pop, I gotta go. I love you, but I'm a little pissed right now. I gotta go_."_

He paced around his grandmother's office and then he stopped and screamed as loudly as his larynx would allow. He dropped to his knees and sobbed like a baby. After he pulled himself together, he sat down on his grandmother's love seat and thought about what the only father he's ever really known said to him,

"_He tried to save her, so I tried to help her, too."_

He only had vague recollections of his biological father. They were fond memories, but vague. He had anecdotes from family and friends that made him feel like he knew him, but he didn't really remember his biological father. It was Carlisle that fathered him. He picked up his cell and made the call he needed to make,

"_Edward, I'm so glad you called back. I'm sorry for…"_

"Pop, don't be sorry. I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me or my father. I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you. You didn't deserve that. Please just tell me what Jane said exactly."

"_She said she wants you to come see her because she has information about the Night Stalker."_

He couldn't figure out how in the hell she had information about the Night Stalker, but he needed all the help he could get.

"Is she going to call you back? How did you end the call?"

"_Well, I told her to call back the same time tomorrow and I'd have an answer for her either way. The answer can be no, son._ "

"No. It can't. When she calls, give her my number, please. I'd like to talk to her directly. Can you do that for me, pop?"

"_Yeah, son, I can do that for you."_

It became silent and then Edward broke the silence.

"I love you, pop. I gotta go."

He hung up without hearing a response. He needed time to process everything.

****DBW****

_**A/N: Thanks to all of you who read, review, rec, and put this story on their favorites list. I'm honored. If you like it, let me know. If not, let me know that, too. It helps me more than you know.**_

_**Just for clarification:**_

_**This story is not in any way affiliated with Tootsie Roll Industries, Nike Corporation, or General Mills that produces the Cheerios brand. It's also not affiliated with Sesame Street or the Muppets in any way. **__** They are just a few of my personal favorites and, in one case, a popular sneaker brand, that I wanted to use in my story. I don't profit from this story and it's just for entertainment.**_

_**Hope everybody is having a great week! **_


	19. Chapter 19

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**A/N: My wonderful pre-reader, Humble4, put in a nomination for my little story at this site:**_

_**thesunflowerawards (dot) blogspot (dot) com/**_

_**Basically, they're looking to bring attention to stories that fanfiction readers like but have fewer than 1,000 reviews. So, if you like this story and you feel so inclined, nominate it. I'm excited to see what happens. **_

_**Thanks to Humble4 and Aniseed that pare down my long-windedness and keep my commas and 'buts' under control. They're the grammar world's version of Spanx. **_

**Chapter 19 – A New Team Member**

Edward panicked. Talking to his father had taken his mind and eyes off of his Isabella. He rushed over to the screen to see if she still had her apron on. When he sat down he could see that she was smiling and happily waiting on a customer with her apron intact. The sense of relief that washed over him caused him to close his eyes and blow out a breath that he had been holding. If Isabella was okay, his world was alright.

He looked at the screen again and honed in on her smile. Her smile made him smile and he reached out and touched the screen to trace her lips. He had memorized every detail of it. She didn't have perfectly even unnaturally white teeth. Her bottom teeth were a little crooked right in the front, but nothing to wear braces. Her top teeth were straight and she had a miniscule overbite so that when she smiled all you really saw were her top teeth. Her mouth actually tasted sweet, even in the mornings. He knew most people would run away in hiding from morning breath but he didn't mind hers. She sometimes covered her mouth and sneaked a Listerine strip in while she thought he was still sleeping. It was really cute that she thought he didn't know. He's had to discreetly replace them already, so she wouldn't know he knows her secret.

She probably did go through an awkward phase growing up. He wished he could sit with her parents and have them show him pictures of their proudest moments. He really wished he could have known her father just as much as he wished he could've known his own. Then his mind went off on a tangent. What if her father wouldn't have liked him? What if he was like his own grandparents? If his father was as enamored with Isabella as a baby, they must've known who he was; at least, he hoped so. He seemed to be good friends with his father and care for him. Maybe that wouldn't have been a problem. Then he began to wonder who he should approach to ask for her hand in marriage? Angela would know who to ask for her hand, if anyone. He could call them and congratulate them and give Ben a hard time at the same time; killing the proverbial two birds with one stone.

He wanted to do things right. Esme had given him her mother's engagement ring for when he finally popped the question. It was beautiful artisanship. It was all sterling silver with no gem. There was an intricately designed oval rendering of two swans with their necks wrapped around each other with detailed silver ripples of lake water around their bottoms. They mate for life. When he realized what he just thought he gasped. What a fucking coincidence? This shit was starting to get scary.

He knew that he probably looked a sight from his emotional episode from earlier, so he went into the bathroom to splash some water on his face and really get himself together. The reflection that stared back at him startled him. Outside of the slight puffiness from his earlier response to his father's call, he looked…good. There were no dark circles under his eyes. His hair looked healthy, if not a little too long. His skin was clear and bright. He looked like a person that was happy and in love. He had seen that look on other people his whole life, but he had never seen it on his own face.

He thought about the other five women he had seriously dated. A few of them were very significant to him. Kim was a sweet shy Korean girl with a petite frame. She had a short spiky hair cut and she wore these funky outfits mixing bright colors with patterns. She wanted to be a designer. She stood out to him and Edward thought she had beautifully delicate features that made her so appealing. He wanted to protect her and make her feel more confident around others. She had such a quick wit and was funny as hell when they were alone. He was a sophomore in high school and they were both outcasts of sorts. They clung to each other until her parents found out. She was forbidden from seeing him and she wouldn't buck against her parents to be with him. She was his first heart break. His self-esteem plunged behind that relationship. First his grandparents and then the parents of his girlfriend couldn't see past his skin color. At least his mother stood up for her relationship. On the other hand, Kim was fifteen and Edward was glad she didn't make any drastic moves to be with him. She was a fashion designer now and married to a really nice Korean man with three kids and happy.

Erica was a girl he met around his cousin's house his junior year. He was more popular then because of football. He was less of an outcast and carried himself with much more confidence. She was a beautiful dark-chocolate complected black girl with long hair, the longest eyelashes he had ever seen, completely flawless skin and deep dimples on both cheeks that made her look like a doll. She had a bright smile that looked even whiter against her skin tone. Despite his newly found confidence, she was so beautiful to him he was scared to talk to her. She played the violin and had the voice of an angel and she was always the lead soprano in Kenwood Academy's seasonal music concerts. She was a favorite of their famed music teacher, Mrs. Lena McLin. He didn't think for a second she would be interested in him. When Ben introduced them he almost ran away. After his cousin got through laughing at him for being a geek, she smiled at him and grabbed his hand and simply said hello. He would travel whatever distance he had just to look at her and listen to her speak. They would take long walks around Hyde Park and just talk for hours. Then she ended up falling for this guy who was a football player from Hyde Park High School. He thought he was really in love and he couldn't eat for a week when she told him she was sorry and that she met someone else. She had become an opera singer and had traveled the world. She actually kept in touch with him and congratulated him when he won his music scholarship. He was resentful of her at first but she wouldn't let him break contact. He was glad for that. She was a good friend. She married that football player and now had two beautiful girls.

There were two college relationships barely worth mentioning. He had sowed his oats, so to speak, in his junior and senior year of undergrad. He wasn't trying to go through anymore heartbreak, if he could help it. However, he wasn't very proud of his blasé attitude towards those women. Then, there was Tanya who was just one big mistake.

He was flattered that a woman as attractive as she would pick him out of all the men in the room who were vying for her attention. Nothing in his brain asked the question 'why' and she did have ulterior motives. They did get to know each other relatively well. They had plenty of time to talk because the sex was just _blah_, after a while. It was exciting at first; after all, he was dating a Chicago Bears cheerleader. She was physically stunning in every way. However, the relationship just fizzled out, even before he found out about the infidelity. Now he knew she was probably just worn out and needed an energy boost and some vitamins. Initially he blamed himself. Tanya had been homeless for a few years, living with her mom in a car throughout most of her high school years after her father abandoned them for another woman. He could only imagine how traumatic that was. She was looking for a sure thing, financially. For some reason she didn't believe she could be her own sure thing. So, she aimed high and tried to hook Emmett, which if he would've known to begin with, he wouldn't have ever dated her. Then, she tried to hook Edward and anybody else she thought could take care of her and give her security. She begged him not to wear a condom with her. He flat out refused. He wouldn't even use a condom she handed him. He knew with all of his being that she was trying to trap him with a baby. He understood why she was the way she was. That didn't make the sting and humiliation of her activities any less painful.

He went back out and sat in front of the lap top screen at his grandmother's desk. There was his Isabella; perfect for him in every way. He knew from lectures from his cousin, Mr. 'I Couldn't Wait to Get Married,' and brother that he tended to put women on a pedestal and smother them with his need to protect people he cared about. He was…intense, for lack of a better word. Most women either took that as weakness and tried to use it to their advantage, or were scared off by it.

As an adult, he could look back on things and understand both reactions. However, Isabella was just as passionate and had the same intensity for him as he had for her. She didn't need him for anything, except the love that he had to give. That made them able to see past all of the bullshit and just see each other. When they made love…he didn't even know how to describe what he felt. He knew anything he thought or said wasn't adequate enough and would be extremely cheesy. She was the lock to his key He thought it was going to be a while before his Isabella could tell him what she wanted and needed in bed, but that hadn't been a problem at all. He knew that was because she knew he loved her and that made him feel special.

As he kept watching Isabella, he noticed the guy that was placing the order was just standing there chatting and…leaning with a goofy ass grin on his face. He didn't like that shit one bit. Now, the mature thing to do would've been to allow Isabella to handle things herself and get this guy to move the hell on. He also could have said to himself,

"_Self, she loves you so you shouldn't be concerned. Just be rational and stay up here until you're needed."_

Unfortunately, he was not rational at the moment and something inside of him knew he was about to make an ass of himself, but at least he was going all in. One thing he knew about himself was that he didn't half-ass anything. So, he left to go down to the diner.

****DBW****

When he got into the diner it was only 11:15. The lunch rush hadn't begun and there was no line behind the man who had basically parked himself at the register. What in the hell could they be talking about for this long?

He nodded at the two undercover officers who decided that flip-flops were a bad idea, after all. They nodded back slightly and one had a little smirk on his face and winked at Edward. He rolled his eyes but was aware he really couldn't be more obvious about his feelings for Isabella. He might as well have been holding up a blinking neon sign that read,

"_I'm having a completely unprofessional relationship with a woman I'm being paid my regular salary by CPD to protect." _

However, he was still pissed with the organization as a whole for what Alistair told him so, fuck 'em.

He eased behind the customer to eavesdrop on their conversation. The dork was saying,

"Yeah, I've been visiting Seattle just for the music scene for years. I'm telling my age but grunge was the craze when I first started visiting there."

The guy wasn't bad-looking and he seemed to be around the same age as him. He looked at Isabella's face to see if she was interested in what he was saying or if she was just being nice. She had leaned on the counter and was nodding attentively at the right places but this was definitely a one-way conversation. However, she didn't look up at him. She must've felt him standing there because he sure as hell felt their special electricity. He felt a full-fledged pout coming on so he took action by clearing his throat to get her attention. Isabella looked up at him and a slow smile spread across her face.

Edward looked down at the man,

"Excuse me, sir. I just wanted to place an order here." The guy looked at Isabella's face and back at his and said,

"Sure. We were just chatting." He moved aside waiting impatiently for Edward to finish so he could continue to bloviate about Seattle.

He walked up to the counter and smiled down at Isabella whose coffee-brown gaze locked with his.

"Miss, Bella is it?"

She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and nodded. She knew that was his to bite. He could feel his pants tightening as he looked longingly at her bottom lip. He finally looked back up at her eyes and her cheeks were crimson red. He licked his lips.

"You wouldn't happen to have any vanilla or strawberry pudding would you?"

She gasped a little and cleared her throat.

"No sir. That's one dessert we don't carry but we do have tootsie roll swirl…I mean cinnamon swirl breakfast rolls or you can have peach cobbler with strawberry ice cream."

He grasped onto the counter because he really wanted to attack her. However, he didn't think his grandmother would appreciate them putting on a show for everybody.

"That's a good suggestion. I love peach cobbler almost as much as I love pudding."

She started to squirm a little and her eyes became slightly hooded. It felt like they were in their own little bubble.

"Well, let me get the order out to you right away, sir; or is that detective? My father was a police officer. I noticed the gold shield." She smiled widely at him.

He leaned on the counter, "You're very observant, young lady, and correct. Being observant is an admirable quality and that's high praise from a detective."

She was still blushing,

"Well, thank you for the praise. That will be $4.75 for the peach cobbler a la mode and strawberry is your flavor."

He paid her and let his hand brush against hers and their electricity intensified, as usual.

"Maybe I can come back sometimes and talk about Seattle with you, too." He winked at her and started to move over to wait for his order. The man was looking between them suspiciously. When Edward finally moved away, the man started talking again.

"Anyway, as I was saying, the Space Needle has…"

"Sir, I'm so sorry to interrupt you but our lunch rush is coming in soon and we have to get prepared. Plus, I have to get that gentleman's order ready. Maybe we can talk more about where you've traveled in Washington when you come back another day."

His face turned red and he looked at Edward who was trying not to gloat because his Isabella was his only.

"I see. Well, are you dating anyone? Maybe we can have a coffee at another place I know near here." Edward's hands tightened into fists.

"Yes. I'm dating someone very seriously. Thanks for the offer." She was very nice to him but clearly sending him off. His face turned even redder and he looked at Edward.

"Okay. Well, I hope he knows he's a lucky guy." Edward smiled hugely at him but didn't say anything.

The man nodded and backed away. Bella waved at him and he finally walked out of the pastry shop. Edward walked back towards her and leaned on the counter.

"So, do I know this guy, Isabella?"

"Yep. He's a really pretty sexy man who tends to get jealous and he has a little bit of a temper." She coughed into her hand indicating that was an understatement.

"He's supposed to be working but for some reason he's in the diner right now. I don't know why. It's truly a conundrum."

He laughed at her and said,

"Well, like the man said, he's a lucky guy and he probably doesn't take that for granted."

She smiled at him as she gave him his order with an extra dollop of whip cream ,

"Well, I feel like I'm the lucky one and I think I'm pretty trustworthy. " She raised her eyebrow at him and he looked contrite.

"Well, how could any man stay away from you for more than five minutes? You're quite attractive, if you don't mind me saying so." She blushed and smiled biting her lip again.

"Here you go, Detective Fred Flintstone." She spoke quietly to him, "Maybe you can get some pudding later." She winked at him and walked away with a little extra sway to her hips to get prepared for the noon rush.

He was caught in an internal dilemma as to whether to drag her upstairs like the caveman he obviously was or behave like a civilized human being. The bell rang over the door and the crowd started coming in for lunch. That snapped him out of it and he went over the booth to eat his cobbler.

****DBW****

As he walked back up to the apartment thinking of the last thing Isabella said to him with a smile on his face, it occurred to him that he hadn't told his mother and father what Alistair had told him about his parents' death. His smile faded.

He wanted to tell them but he was at a loss as to what to say. Alistair thinks that Charles Swan may have surveillance video proving that Liam O'Keefe may be connected to the Volturi and possibly responsible for the death of his parents. It didn't really seem worth telling them, at this point. It was all supposition and he wanted solid proof before he upset Esme and Carlisle. If it weren't for Isabella, he probably would've tried to torture it out of him. The fact that Lisa was willing to act as a decoy for Isabella might make it possible at some point for them to take a trip to Forks and see if they can find anything. He would have to run that by Jasper, Lisa and Isabella. He was hopeful that Isabella could see Angela too.

The fact that this woman outran him was flipping his lid. He was thirty-one years old and not in the shape he used to be but that was unreal. He wanted to do a Google search for female sprinters that had won awards of some nature.

She was wearing a wig and he was waiting to hear back from Jasper to see if they found her or the wig. It would make sense for her to toss it if she was trying to get away and be unrecognized. She came dressed to run and she must have had contingency plans.

Then, what Lisa said to him about not knowing if that was a man or a woman in that wig hit him like a ton of bricks and he dropped everything he was holding.

"Shiiittt!"

****DBW****

"_Whitlock."_

"Hey, man, it's me. I'm so fucking stupid."

"_Well, I wouldn't call you stupid. You're a little goofy…"_

"Whitlock, I'm serious, man. The Night Stalker is Raven in a wig. He's posing as a woman. Am I that fucking dense?"

"_Whoa! Slow down. What makes you come to this conclusion?"_

"That fucking smirk is what clued me in and the blond hair underneath that Lisa told us about. It's the same shitty smile from the day Isabella started, the surveillance store on 87th and in front of the store today. I had that motherfucker in my grasp and let him get away."

"_Cullen, what kind of Scooby-Doo shit is this? Are you telling me the Night Stalker is a cross-dresser?"_

"I don't know if he thinks of himself that way, but he is definitely dressing as a woman to lure his victims."

"_Edward, we can't rule out the possibility that these are two different people. What if they are a sibling team that looks alike? What if the Night Stalker is a woman posing as a man? There are so many possibilities. Fortunately, the officers did find that wig."_

"They found it? I wonder what he wants us to know now." His heart was still palpitating from being so close to him, and not handcuffing him right away.

"Let's see what forensics tells us about the wig and try to take it from there. Did you run your theory by Alistair?"

"No. I just figured this out, man. Have you heard back from Siobhan and Liam?"

"_Not yet, Edward. Now that we know her name we can narrow down the search. I'll call them now."_

"Whitlock, I'm starting to think that the more we know, the less we know. My father told me that Jane Volturi wants to talk to me about the Night Stalker."

"_What would Jane Volturi know about the Night Stalker?"_

"I don't know. When she calls my dad back tomorrow he's supposed to give her my number so she can call me collect."

There was a loaded pause.

"_Edward, do you think that's a good idea. You're a very emotional person and this woman killed your father. Do you think it's possible for you to have a civil conversation with her?"_

"I don't know, man. I'm going to give it my best try. I feel that I need to talk to her in a way. It's not like we can afford to not talk to somebody who knows something about this case."

"_I think we're going to have to do another press conference about this Raven person, Edward. If she's the one luring women, people need to know." _

"Raven said, '_What's important is that you know that, no matter what you do, we can always get to who we want and what we want.' _If this is more than one person or a sibling team, they would have some company on the serial killer list. You have Ray and Faye Copeland that killed five men. The Briley Brothers killed eleven people in Richmond, Virginia and The Bender family killed all of those people in Kansas. That's just a few. Do you really think we're dealing with a duo here, Whitlock, instead of one guy playing mind games?"

"_I don't know, man. My brain has to compartmentalize and deal with one thing at a time. This is what we know: 1) There is a killer targeting young, petite, and brunette women. 2) Isabella Swan is his latest target. 3) A person named Raven is connected to these killings by participating personally in the crime itself, luring people away to be victims, or a combination thereof. _

_Outside of those things, everything else is in the 'deal with later with experts' compartment. Do you want to drive over to the station together to talk to Forensics?"_

"Do you think they'll be done today? You know they're as slow as hell up in there."

"_Well, if they don't have the wig processed, we can find out if Heidi Brunelli's DNA matches up with Alice's"_

"They found usable blood to get a DNA reading from the Brunelli woman?"

"_Yeah, they don't need much and the evidence was stored properly for a change."_

"At least something is going right? Do you think that woman is Alice's mother?"

"_What did I tell you, son? There's the 'What I know category' and the 'I'll deal with this later with experts' category."_

Edward sighed,

"That would be really fucked up if Alice finally finds out who her mother is and she's dead."

"_Yes, it would be. On the other hand, she could have a father and siblings out there. She could have cousins, aunts and uncles…a family full of beautiful, energetic and lovable people."_

Edward felt a jolt of excitement and sadness,

"Yeah, then she wouldn't just be only our little Mae Mae anymore. I guess I shouldn't be selfish, huh?"

"_How many times do I have to tell you? I don't deal with that kind of shit until I have to. If we find out that was her mother and she has family, I'll talk to you about that then. Before you ask, I already swabbed my cheek and I know for sure there's no way we are related, even distantly. "_

"Damn, Whitlock. I didn't even think about that shit. I'm glad you did. So far, with Emily, we've only had cute babies in this family. No two-headed, three-armed babies, Whitlock. I mean, we would still love the baby, but we wouldn't take it out much."

"_You're a sick man, Cullen. I'll see you later."_

"Alright, dawg."

****DBW****

"When he finished speaking to Jasper, it was just a little after noon. He decided to call his cousin and congratulate him on his marriage. He also wanted to have a heart to heart with Angela.

"_EJ! Hey, man. It's about time you called me, cuz. Mom told me you still haven't called or come by. Am I going to have to jump on a plane and kick your ass, man?"_

"Pfft. Like you could, delusional one. I'm sorry I haven't been by to see Aunt Carmen, man. I've been all twisted with everything. I'll get by there soon. Speaking of Aunt Carmen, I hear she knew you were married but I was the last to know. What the fuck is up with that?"

"_Uhmmm…My bad. It was just one of those things man. We just jumped up and did it."_

"Oh, I see. So, what happened to I'm not getting married until I'm in a wheelchair and I have no choice but to have someone there to push me around, you ass?"

He laughed loudly_, "I was just twenty-one when I said that shit, cuz. Angela is what happened. She's a beautiful person. It's like she was made for me. You know what I mean?"_

He smiled softly thinking about Isabella, "Yes, I know what you mean. Congratulations, Ben. Angela does seem like a really good person and she's beautiful too. Hopefully, the kids will look like her."

"_Thanks and kiss my ass. So, how close are we to being able to come home, man? You know Angie has never missed one of Amanda's birthdays. She got her a gift already. She was crying when she mailed it this morning. I felt really bad. I didn't know what to say, or how to console her."_

"We can work something out. You guys can come in for a few hours and fly back out. You'll be with us the whole time. Everything should be fine."

"_Cool. I'll tell her when she gets back from shopping. I just gave her my credit card and told her to go wild. She was smiling when she left. She loves to shop. By the way, I love it here in Seattle. Bella's house is a houseboat. Cuz, it is so beautiful here. If you look right across the lake you can see the Space Needle. We're not far from downtown and it's really laid back here. I'm thinking about trying to get on with the force here, man."_

"What? You can't move that far away, Ben. When would I see you? I know I fuck with you all the time, but I love you, man. Why don't you just get a timeshare so you can vacation there occasionally?'

The line was quiet.

"_Hello, may I speak to Edward Cullen? Did you just say you love me and don't want me to move far away because you wouldn't be able to see me? Awwww! I'm touched you little softie."_

"I'm just saying. If you and Angela start a family, you want to be near family. You might need some help. I know you can afford a nanny but you don't want strangers living in your house. You know what I mean? Rose and Emmett needed help and family was there for them. That's the way it's supposed to be. Anyway, your place in Naperville is right by the River Walk. You're already by water. Better yet, why don't you get that condo by Lake Michigan you were looking at?"

Ben started laughing,

"_Okay, okay. I won't move away. My little cousin loves me. He'll miss me if I'm gone. Awwww!" _He started blowing smooches through the phone.

"Cut it out, you idiot! Anyway, we have some new developments in the case, man. There's this person named Raven that's been luring women to the Night Stalker. She tried to lure a woman right in front of the restaurant. I chased her and she didn't get the girl, thank God. I think the Night Stalker and Raven are one in the same. Whitlock told me not to jump to conclusions but I would swear that they have similar smirks and a similar structure to their faces. Also, she outran me. I mean, I'm not the fastest motherfucka in the world, but I think I should have been able to keep up, at least."

"_She outran you? Yeah, I think that is a little unusual. I know you think you're the 'Six Million Dollar Man' and shit, but I can even admit you're pretty fast."_

Edward laughed at his cousin, who had always had a little competition going with him in regards to sports,

"Forget you, man. If you two are coming out for Amanda's birthday, we have to get working on the plans. I'll talk to Alice. You know she loves to plan shit. We just have to make sure you get here safely from the airport. I don't know where 'here' is, yet. I was thinking we could hold the party in Naperville but Jacob's sisters are coming in to surprise Bella, so we may hold it at my loft. That way you two can get to the airport quickly and they can get back to Jacob's without the long drive. If you two want to visit with your moms we can even get you in on a late Thursday night flight. I'll let you know for sure later on in the week."

"_Bella used her plane to get us here. There's an airport in Bolingbrook we took off from. We could come in on Thursday night with no problem and stay with Iris until we leave for the party if we use her plane again. We'll actually be closer to Naperville but whatever you all plan will be fine. Listen, I love you and stay safe. Don't worry about us. Even if we don't make it this time we'll be there for the next one definitely. So don't stress out over it."_

"Okay. You know about Isabella's plane, huh? That shit pissed me off at first. But, I can't stay mad at my baby for long."

Ben chuckled_, "Yeah, Angie told me about her writing too. She's H.R. Higgenbotham. That's unbelievable man. I guess you don't have to worry about her being a gold digger."_

"Yeah, I think we both lucked out on that one, cuz. Hey, can I get Angela's cell number? I want to talk to her about a few things."

"_What do you want to talk to my woman about?" _Edward couldn't believe Ben sounded jealous.

"Hello, knucklehead. This is your cousin on the phone. What do you think is going to happen? Give me her cell phone number and mind your business."

Ben laughed_, "My bad, cuz. That was a knee-jerk reaction." _

Edward laughed because he understood perfectly well. He was going to jump on Jasper about flirting with Isabella when they first met and he was still thinking she was something out of his nightmares. Ben gave him the number and they hung up promising to talk later on in the week.

****DBW****

He immediately called Angela's number. When she answered he heard the sounds of the city in the background and she was a little out of breath.

"_Edward?"_

"Hey, cousin! Congratulations on the marriage, Mrs. Nelson! So, you gave in to the Nelson charm, huh?"

_Angela giggled, "Yeah. I did big time. So, how are you doing?" He heard what sounded like her entering a store and settling into a chair._

"I'm alright. Are you sitting down somewhere because I need to ask you a few questions and I don't want the lure of a sale and a Black Card without a limit distracting you?"

"_He told you he sent me shopping to console me, huh? He knows me so well. I didn't go too crazy. I mostly bought things for him and for us. I'm sitting. My feet are killing me. What's up?" _He could hear the smile in her voice.

"Uhmmm…If one were to ask Isabella for her hand in marriage who would one need to go to being that her father and mother have passed?"

He heard the phone drop, squealing and what sounded like clapping on the other end. He actually had to hold the phone away from his ear. What was with women and squealing over good news? On the other hand, he was glad Isabella's best friend considered his question good news.

"_Oh my goodness! You're going to ask Bella to marry you? Did you tell Ben? He's going to flip out, if you didn't already tell him. We can do a double wedding! That would be crazy!" _

She was still squealing and she dropped the phone again. He wondered what the people around her were thinking.

"Angela! Angela, please pick up the phone and talk to me."

"_Oh, I'm sorry, Edward. You wanted to know who to ask for her hand? Well, ideally, it would be Phil. However, he's a gigantic ass and I don't think he's worthy. You know Jacob right?"_

"Yeah, Jacob is a good friend of mine."

"_Well, Jacob's dad, Billy, was like a father to Bella. If he were alive now that Charlie is gone, I would say go to Billy. However, since Billy has passed, maybe you can go to Jacob. Would that be too weird for you since you're around the same age?"_

He thought about the friend and confidante he had found in Jacob and how he seemed to love Isabella very much.

"No. That wouldn't be weird at all. I think that's a good idea, actually."

"_Did you pick out a ring, yet?_

"Well, it was picked out for me. Esme gave me her mother's engagement ring to give to my future wife."

"_How do you feel about that? They didn't really know you right?"_

"Oh my God! You're already starting to talk like Ben." She laughed, but was still waiting for an answer.

"I don't even think about it as my grandmother's ring. I think of it as the ring Esme gave me. So, it's special to me because of that."

"_Good. You're a good one, Edward. I'm so glad she found you and you hit the future spouse lottery yourself, chico. What does the ring look like?"_

"Thanks, Angela and trust me I know I did. Now, all I have to do is get her to say yes. I'll have to send you a picture before the end of the day. I'm not good at describing stuff like jewelry. You can tell me if you think she'll like it."

"Whatever! Like she would ever say no to you. Okay, Operation 'Approve Bella's Engagement Ring' is in full effect. I gotta go before this heifer steals the shoes she saw me eying. I'll talk to you soon."

He laughed and shook his head,

"_Thanks, cuz. I'm going to call you and Ben later this week to see if we can get you two out here for Amanda's birthday."_

"_Wow! I guess I have to get used to that. You are my cousin, now. You're welcome, primo. That would be excellent if we could come! I'll talk to you soon. Take care of you and my little family."_

"Always. Take care. I'll talk to you soon."

He hung up thinking he was a few steps closer to making Isabella and Amanda a permanent part of his life if she was willing to do him the honor.

****DBW****

He was researching a few things on the computer in regards to the case and when he looked up it was already 1:45. Jasper would be there soon to drive to the station with him meanwhile Isabella would be making her way back to the loft. He decided to go down to the pastry shop and watch her leave.

He headed down to the diner and the lunch rush was dying down, but was still in full effect. He had to sit at the counter because the booths and tables were all taken. Even during a bad economy this little eatery flourished. He thought it was because the food was good and comforting. It was also affordable and you got a lot of it. His grandmother had other buffet style all-you-can-eat restaurants in a little more than half of the states of the union. However, this restaurant was the only one he loved and felt like home to him.

A young lady came up to him behind the counter and asked what he wanted and he ordered a black coffee. He looked at Isabella at the cash register. There was a guy waiting to replace her with his cash drawer and taking orders so they could make a smooth transition. She looked up like she was searching for something and finally locked eyes with him. He smiled at her and she smiled with a look of relief on her face. She was probably a little more frightened today to make that lone walk than any other day. Jasper walked in and sat a few stools away at the counter. They quietly acknowledged each other.

The new cashier took over and before he knew it Isabella walked out front with her beautiful tresses hanging down in waves down towards the middle of her back. She had dressed in her hoodie and she turned to look at him after she said good-bye to Charlotte and Mike. He gave her the two finger gesture for I've got my eyes on you and she stealthily blew him a kiss.

He watched the two undecovers walk out behind her. Lisa was already gone. He saw her car following closely beside her as she walked down the street. When her form finally disappeared from his sight, he and Jasper went to get in his Volvo that was already parked by the curb.

****DBW***

As Edward disconnected from his anxious call to Isabella to make sure she made it in the door safely, Jasper started to make conversation,

"Sooo, Cullen, I've been meaning to ask you something?"

"What's up, Jazzy?"

"I'll ignore that bastardized version of my name for now because I need to know exactly how much shit you get from the brothas for driving this damn C-Class "I have a stick up my ass" Volvo? All you need is a baby seat in the back and a bumper sticker about your honor roll student."

Edward feigned offense,

"What's wrong with _Jazzy_? It makes me want to watch old episodes of the _Fresh Prince of Bel Air_. And I'll have you know the brothas stop, stare and point when I drive through the 'hood in my C_70 _Volvo, thank you very much. Their laughter stems from some knock-knock jokes they heard before I rode past. They're envious of my safety conscious, yet stylish ride."

Jasper laughed and shook his head at his crazy partner.

"One day I want to live in your world. I'm sure the mayor of Edwardville would make Willy Wonka seem normal."

"Pfft. The mayor of Edwardville is Willy Wonka and he loves my Volvo. Haven't you wondered where Gene Wilder is lately and why I never run out of gum? He gave me a key to city."

"That's because you're the only one living there, with your crazy ass."

Edward knitted his eyebrows together and said,

"The census says at least five people live there."

Jasper's stomach was hurting he was laughing so hard.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?"

Edward laughed,

"Hello. I have my own city in my head and Willy Wonka is the mayor. Weren't you following our conversation?"

"Who's the President of Edwardville?"

He answered with no hesitation, "Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes is the Vice President."

Jasper nodded, "Well, stranger things have happened. Look at California."

Edward nodded. They were in total agreement.

****DBW****

When they walked into the precinct their jovial mood disappeared. When their captain saw them he gestured for them to come over and talk to him. He was standing next to a woman who was about six feet with the black stilettos she was wearing, flaming curly red hair, and a smart gray business suit.

"Fellas, I'd like you to meet, Victoria Reynolds. She's a new team member and consultant we're bringing in on the Night Stalker case. Ms. Reynolds has helped out other departments with tracking criminals that they don't have the technology or savvy to track on their own. She has security clearance and is very anxious to help in any way she can. Ms. Reynolds this is Detectives Edward Cullen and Jasper Whitlock."

Jasper's jaw dropped and he had the angriest look Edward had ever seen on his face,

"Excuse me, Captain Morris. Aren't I the lead detective on this case now? Why are you bringing in new people without talking to me about it?"

The woman looked awkwardly between the three men and Edward waited for an answer, as well. He felt the same way about this 'new team member.'

"Well, the last time I checked, I'm still your superior, Whitlock. This case hasn't been solved and we're going to have to tell the city something when we do another press conference introducing another person for the people of the city to fear in this Raven character."

Jasper swallowed hard and it looked like he was doing deep breathing exercises to stay under control. Edward took a moment to really look at this woman that was looking him square in the eye, at the moment. She was attractive in a very Gaelic way. However, her name didn't sound Celtic. She had steel blue eyes that seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't place where.

"Ms. Reynolds, it's a pleasure. Tell me about some of the other work you've done."

"The pleasure is mine, Detective Cullen. I worked with the FBI on the Tri-State Terror case where the perp, Jason Caruthers, was using Craig's List to find his victims. I also helped out with the local police and the local FBI in Los Angeles to help find Manuel Hernandez, the man that killed his wife and went on a killing spree around the area with his daughter in the car."

"That's impressive, Ms. Reynolds. L.A. has the best technology in the country for tracking. The fact that they called you in to help speaks volumes." Jasper volunteered after calming down.

"Well, I do what I can. Usually, I'm just adding some small element to the vast amount of work that's already done. It's good to have an extra set of eyes."

They both nodded and Edward said,

"Well, welcome to the team, Ms. Reynolds."

She smiled and shook his hand. However, Edward didn't feel warmed or comforted by her smile or touch. There was something in his gut that didn't respond well to Victoria Reynolds.

They stayed and talked to her a while and finally walked to Forensics. They agreed to meet at the station the next day at the same time to have a real chat.

"This is bullshit." Jasper muttered angrily.

"I agree."

They walked into the lab waiting to hear if they had found out anything that could end this nightmare.

****DBW****

_**A/N: I have some recs :**_

_**Stop by my beta's profile, Aniseed, and check out her three completed stories:**_

_**1942**_

WW2 is closing in on the Allies- the underground resistance seem to be their only hope. With the help of the British Govt & a strong willed brunette, will Edwards branch get the success that could tip the balance in their favour? Can there be love in war?

_**The Man That Made A Million**_

New York, 1929. Flappers, jazz and alcohol- how will Edward cope when he gets thrown into the thick of it? Can he find the answers to his past? And will he find what he was looking for? Keeping up with change is the hardest thing anyone can ever do.

_**Bone China**_

High standards, forced marriages and unforgivable criminality - Victorian London isn't all it is portrayed to be. Behind mask of propriety and parasols lie secrets and misdemeanor. Isabella will discover the truth the hard way...

_**My pre-reader, Humble4, suggested a fic:**_

_**Seeing Bella **_

Alice has a vision of a girl with no vision. She will either save Edward from his life of lonely brooding, or she will destroy him with his destruction of her. Can Bella discover the Cullen family secret if she can't see? Canon vamps and couples.

_**.net/s/6579398/1/Seeing_Bella by sherryola  
**_

I haven't had a chance to read this one, yet. However, I trust Humble4's judgment. I haven't been steered wrong, yet.

_**I hope everyone is ready for a new week. **_


	20. Chapter 20

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I had to regroup and get my bearings, so to speak. Thanks for being patient with me and thanks for reading and reviewing. Also, thanks to Humble4 and Aniseed for putting up with my little peccadilloes, namely misspelling screen-names and forgetting to put profile links up for stories I rec. Copy and paste should be my best friends. **_

Chapter 20 – Meeting Carmen

Edward and Jasper walked downstairs to the area that housed the Forensics lab to see what information they could get about the wig and about Heidi Brunelli's connection to Alice. The basement area of the Area 1, District 2 police station where they worked served several different functions. There were three small holding cells for offenders waiting to be transferred to Cook County jail at 26th and California or for a hearing at the courthouse. There was also a room designated for the deceased to be held before they were taken to the Coroner for identification, autopsy or both by the Medical Examiner.

Edward had spent a great deal of time in the basement over the course of the last year and a half. A large portion of that time was spent stroking the brunette hair of the victims and waiting to ride to the Coroner with them. Every time he emerged from the pit, as he had begun to think of it, back onto the first floor he felt he had escaped a Dantean fate. However, the white plaster and cinder blocked walls with the white fluorescent lighting made the basement look less like hell and more like an insane asylum, which was just as apropos based on his current mindset.

It didn't escape his notice that the last victim of the Night Stalker, Amanda Rosetti, shared the same name as his pseudo-daughter. There had been way too many coincidences lately to pass them off as that. In fact, 'coincidence' was never a word that he would consciously utter out loud for fear of insulting whatever powerful forces were at play in his life right now, or possibly his entire life.

The fact that the woman Raven tried to lure was named Sasha _Edwards _had thrown him for a loop as well. Lastly, Alistair telling him that a Liam O'Keefe was the crooked cop that may have had a hand in killing his parents either directly or indirectly and that Liam was also the name of the husband of the opera singing Domme that could possibly solve the riddle of the marks on the necks of these women was astonishing.

However, Edward chose to keep these revelations in his head to blurt out after this nonsense was over. He kept trying to speak of the resolution of these serial killings as a foregone conclusion as Mae Mae had been doing for a little over a week now. This was the only way he could cope with the lack of control he had over his life at the moment. In fact, he was starting to wonder if any semblance of control he thought he had previously was all an illusion and a laughable exercise in futility. Was there some big comedy hour in the sky where popcorn, drinks and candy were served and he was one of the starring acts? Was his life a vaudeville act for the spirit world? He was guessing being a piano player had an ethereal purpose at this point.

Maybe he was letting his ego get too big. There was no way the Universe could be fixated on him. There were starving orphaned kids with limbs shortened and scarred by machetes, tsunamis, earthquakes, disease, and generally hateful and venomous behavior from one human being to another occurring in this world every second. Surely, the gods had more important things to do than be concerned with his happiness or unhappiness. On the other hand, maybe his life was the fodder of lesser gods that had a lot of time on their hands. Was there a spirit world equivalent to the flesh-bound couch potato?

These musings were running through his brain as he donned the sterile dressing of police personnel who needed to enter the Forensics lab. He and Jasper had on what looked like a rubber shower cap over their heads, plastic booties over their shoes, white lab coats, rubber gloves and clear safety glasses. Normally, he would ridicule this routine jokingly with Jasper. They would say it was the nerds who worked in forensics idea of safe sex. However, he was so preoccupied that he put the gear on without a word of complaint or a jeer.

They quietly walked into the lab, as the green light over the door indicating it was safe to enter was on. Dr. Malcolm Essex, the head of Forensics, was there processing a case as his colleagues and employees milled around entering data into their internal database that fed into the CODIS database for national and international criminal DNA profiles.

Dr. Essex was part Chinese and part black American. People teasingly called him 'the anti-Tiger Woods' because he was notorious for having no athletic ability whatsoever. He looked up through his goggles and face mask and smiled at the detectives.

"Well, if it isn't Starsky and Hutch? What's happening, fellas? Are you here to disrupt my ch'i?"

"Wassup, Dr. E? Quick, tell me what ch'i means, with your faking ass. You haven't been to China. You haven't even been south of 119th and Halsted and you know it." Edward loved joking around with Malcolm Essex. They went to U of C together, although he was in grad school when he was an undergrad. They had known each other for quite a while.

He feigned offense, "I'll have you know I stayed a year with my mother's family in Beijing after my senior year of high school. We all can't wear green on St. Paddy's day and get drunk off Guinness after we've marched in the Bud Billiken Day parade a few months before. Some of us have to really search out our roots and immerse ourselves you lazy bastard." He said 'you lazy bastard' in a fake Irish brogue.

Edward laughed, "Fuck you, man. All you have to do is take the El to Chinatown, hang out for a day and then go back and hang out in your 'hood over there on 79th and Drexel. That's all the immersion you need, with your confused ass." They laughed and gave each other a pound.

Jasper looked between the two of them and shook his head.

"Now that we're done with the lame ass version of _Roots_, can we get down to business?"

They both looked at Jasper who didn't bat an eyelash. They looked at each other and Edward said,

"I don't know? Should we let 'Sir Pick-up Truck' get away with that shit, Malcolm?"

Dr. Essex looked him up and down,

"Well, considering he can kick my ass with the martial arts that my people created, I'll give him a pass."

Jasper sighed, "Karate was created in the Ryukyu Islands which is now Okinawa, Japan. Your people developed Kung Fu and Harold's Chicken and shit."

The room grew quiet and Edward burst out laughing while Dr. Essex gave Jasper the evil eye and the finger.

"Fuck both of y'all. Harold's Chicken is the best chicken in the city and I guess you don't know about Capoeira, Bassula and Ta-Merrian martial arts? " He looked serious for a moment and then joined in the laughter with Edward who was laughing even harder at how serious he had gotten. All three of them were chuckling until Jasper interrupted,

"Anyway," Jasper interrupted loudly, "as I was asking before, do you actually do any work down here or should we come back when comedy hour is over?"

"What's up your ass, Whitlock? Between the two of you assholes, you're usually the calm one." Dr. Essex asked him between chuckles.

"We're just anxious to find out anything new about this case, son. Captain Morris brought in a new 'team member' and didn't consult with me about that shit. That means he's getting pressure from up high and we have to end this shit pronto because I don't do no politicking. That's why I left Dallas." He said 'team member' with a mixture of sarcasm and anger.

Edward put a hand on his shoulder.

"Whitlock, you came to the wrong city for "no politicking," dawg. You jumped out of the pot into the frying pan, my friend. Malcolm, we're just hoping we can leave out of here with something new, man. That's it. We're both suspicious as hell of everybody and want this shit to be over with."

Dr. Essex nodded with a serious expression,

"I'm processing the wig. Unfortunately, I'm not likely to find any DNA on it unless she bled under the wig or spat on the wig. DNA can only come from a living hair follicle. It basically has to be attached to the head with blood running through the root. Hair is dead. You can't get DNA from dead protein. Another thing, if she's never been convicted of a felony before, even if I can get some DNA from the wig, I won't be able to match up the profile with anyone. The database only has the DNA profiles on convicted felons and for some misdemeanors. Some states are starting to collect data on those that are arrested but that's not common."

Jasper and Edward gave him an open-mouthed look. They were hoping they could find something usable from the wig and he just shot down their hopes within the span of a few seconds.

"I wish both of you rebels would've put on masks and would close your mouths. Who knows how much Whitlock's hot air has contaminated this room already."

Jasper rolled his eyes, "Can you at least tell me you've done the DNA match up with Heidi Brunelli and Mary Alice Cullen?"

Malcolm's face lit up and he pulled out a brown envelope that was addressed to Jasper,

"I was going to send this up to you via inter-office mail but since you're here, let me give you the results." He pulled out the paper and began to announce very dramatically,

"Heidi Brunelli…is _not _the baby mama." He and Edward clapped and hooted like they would on the _Maury Povich _show. Everybody turned and looked at them laughing as they were giving each other high fives and chest-bumping like the characters that came on the morning talk show.

"I can't stand either one of you today. Can you tell us by tomorrow if you found anything on the wig?" Malcolm nodded and handed Jasper the paperwork between snickers. Then he stormed off pretending to be angry. He was actually glad he worked with people like Edward and Malcolm. They made the job bearable when it really wasn't at times. Today was one of those times.

****DBW***

Edward had always been good at joking away his nervousness or pain for most of his life. For example, finding out that Heidi Brunelli was not Alice's mother flipped his stomach so strongly he felt nauseous. However, he had to put on the façade of control and humor so that his colleagues wouldn't see how emotionally affected he was that his sister was still only a Cullen. He felt selfish and happy simultaneously. He knew he was going to have to find a way to get over the fact that one day she may be a Whitlock or one day find her biological family. He just wasn't ready to do it at this moment.

Edward and Jasper got back in the car and headed back to Hyde Park. They were quiet and Edward knew they were thinking about the same thing - Victoria Reynolds.

Edward had heard of her before. V.R. Security and Technology Consultants was famous in policing circles of various levels, from big cities to federal agencies, and among private citizens of great means. Edward decided to disrupt the quiet.

"So now we have Victoria Reynolds helping us to track the _Night_ _Stalker_. I know you don't like the fact that Morris brought her on without consulting you but don't you think she'll be able to help us? She helped with the Manuel Hernandez case and that guy was on the move for three weeks using disposable phones to call different relatives to tell them he was going to end his life and his daughter's after he finished his 'mission.' She was able to help them track this guy by finding one of the phones he tossed, pulling the SIM card and bugging the people's phones that he was calling. They were able to track him because they were able to figure out that he was attempting to kill himself in front of his wife's mother through some of his conversations. I guess he thought she was the cause of all of his marital problems."

He had followed that case closely in the news from three months prior and had even considered asking to hire the company himself. It seemed at the time like someone in the LAPD should've been able to figure out how to track him on their own. The solution to the problem of him tossing his phones so they couldn't be traced seemed so simple and obvious. He figured sometimes it must really be true that having an objective third party with fresh eyes was a good idea. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that he had decided to turn the reins over to Whitlock.

"If Ms. Reynolds can help in any way that we haven't thought of, I'm glad to have her on the team. I just get a feeling that this whole thing is going to blow up in our faces somehow. I know that Victoria might be able to help us with tracking the _Stalker _but I don't like having somebody on my team that I don't know personally and trust. Why didn't Captain Morris bring her in from the beginning if she's so good at what she does? I don't like it."

It was disturbing Edward that his partner that was normally the calming force between the two of them was suddenly the emotional one. He needed to find a way to get his partner back into the right frame of mind. So, he decided to broach a safer subject.

"So, how is Alice doing with planning Amanda's birthday party? Do you think she's having it in Naperville or will she throw it at my loft?"

Jasper's face lit up and he visibly calmed,

"She didn't want to make it too big because she knows Bella won't like that. She remembered what she said about people giving from their heart and that she didn't want Amanda asking for what she wanted gift-wise. She's planning a low-key thing; well as low-key as Alice gets, out at your parents' house. I think she only has one clown showing up. I talked her down from three."

Edward watched Jasper laugh at the memory and could very easily imagine him with his sister as a long-time married couple, telling stories of having to 'rein in the little woman' with his southern drawl.

"She wants to make sure the kids can run around and play in a yard. Amanda and the other kids should have a really good time. I think Seth might be coming with Rachel and Rebecca. So, it's not just going to be a special day for Amanda. I think Bella is going to be very happy."

Edward felt a pang of jealousy shoot through his chest although he knew it was irrational.

"Seth is Leah's brother. He's younger than Bella right?"

Jasper laughed, "I'm pretty sure he is, Edward. Are you worried about her connecting with Seth after all of these years?"

Edward figured his emotions must play over his face very obviously when anyone spoke of his Isabella because a person didn't even need to know him well to be able to recognize his feelings for her. Jasper knew him relatively well. However, even one of the undercover guys that was following her could see he was smitten.

"I know Isabella had boyfriends before me. She is a grown woman. I just don't know who all of them were. I know about that Robert Stefani ass that pushed her up against a wall. I'm still thinking about researching all of his business licenses to see if they're up to date and have him fined or shut down if any of them aren't. She already told me to let it go but I'm having a hard time with that. I don't know about the other two."

She had told him that she had dated three men in her life. He was hoping Seth wasn't one of them. He didn't want to be an ass towards Jacob's brother-in-law, especially when he wanted to talk to him about marrying Isabella.

He really needed to talk to her more in-depth about her past, so he wouldn't behave like a jealous jerk every time someone brought up a male in association with her name.

"Edward, we both have fallen pretty hard pretty quickly. You don't think I go through the same shit you do emotionally? Every time she watches a movie with a guy in it she thinks is hot I want to burn the DVD, hunt him down and threaten him with bodily harm if he ever comes near Alice. I know inside of my head that is completely fucking irrational. I mean, I think that Brandon Routh guy is even married."

Edward laughed hard at that because he had no recollection of Jasper's reaction to her saying she thought he was cuter than Christopher Reeve of Superman fame, except the eye roll that they had all given her.

"Enhance your calm, Jazz. I don't want to have to bail you out of jail for attacking a celebrity. That shit would be funny as hell but I don't want to have to do it."

Jasper laughed, "You think Captain Morris would give me some ridiculous moniker that doesn't fit too when he gives his press conference about me snapping and going on a rampage?"

"Yeah, I can see it now…"Windy City Whitlock…Cop Killer."

He mimicked a reporter,

"_Sir, I'm confused. That name suggests that Detective Jasper Whitlock kills cops; not what he actually is; a cop that killed a celebrity out of jealousy."_

He jokingly cleared his throat pretending to be someone of great importance,

"_I don't have time to explain the names I give these criminals. I'm a busy man. I have a city to protect. Make it Windy City Whitlock…Killer Cop. That should clear it all up."_

"_Sir, couldn't that just mean that he's really good at his job."_

_He dismissively says, "Next question!"_

"What's really scary is that I think he already calls me Windy City Whitlock."

Edward looked at him and laughed, "I don't have any trouble believing that, man. Back to the topic of men that are already married. Did you know that my cousin, Ben, and Angela got married in Vegas a few days ago?"

Jasper's head whipped around and his eyes bugged a little, "He's known her for a shorter time than either one of us has known Bella or Alice."

"Yeah, but that's true only by a day in my case. I don't know how long it took for you to start hanging out with my sister. I knew you thought she was attractive from the way you reacted to her picture."

"I called her as soon as I got home on the night of her birthday and we talked for hours. So, I think I may have him beat by two days." His shoulders were shaking from laughter.

"This is crazy as hell, man. I never thought I'd be considering marrying someone that I've only known a little over a week. I asked Angela who I should ask for her hand in marriage and she suggested I ask Jacob."

"What? You're going to ask Bella to marry you, Edward. When?"

"Well, I told Angela that I'd show her a picture of the engagement ring first. Once I get her approval or advice on what to pick out, all that I have left is to speak with Jacob. I can't imagine him saying he doesn't want her to marry me. He's already said he's glad we met each other. As far as a date or popping the question, I'm not really sure."

Jasper still looked stunned.

"So, this ring is something you already had?"

"Yes. I've had it since I was fourteen. It's not from another engagement or anything. I'm not that tacky and I've never even considered getting married before Isabella. My mom gave me her mother's engagement ring to give to the woman I wanted to marry. I guess I could say it was from my biological mom too, technically."

Jasper still looked a little dazed.

"Well, what do you think she'll say? Have you two even discussed the future?"

"That's the thing, Jazz. We talked about marriage after we…were together the first time. I asked her if she thought we could get to Vegas and back before Pete came in the morning in a joking way but I was completely serious. She told me she would marry me then. However, I don't know if she was just caught up in the moment or something."

He looked at Jasper out of his periphery to see his reaction.

"Edward, you know I joke around with you all of the time but I consider you a friend. I can tell you that neither one of you seem like the type to take something as serious as marriage lightly. By the way, I hope you weren't offended by that 'Harold's Chicken' comment. I was just joking around."

Edward looked at him like he was losing his mind, "Jasper I called your truck a hillbilly truck the day of my sister's birthday. We joke around with each other all of the time. Why would you think you offended me? I didn't offend you did I?"

"No. However, joking around about race is a little easier to take on my end as it is on yours, I would assume." Edward smiled at how sensitive Jasper seemed to be about issues that weren't even his. He wondered how he got to be that way and wanted to meet his family. He seemed like a really good person.

"Well, I don't know how you take joking about race, Whitlock. But, I might have to start fucking with you about the size of your head. I mean, good Lord, your poor mother. I knew they sold ten gallon hats in Texas but I didn't know about the fifteen gallon hats."

Jasper started laughing at him and gave him the finger.

"Like I haven't heard that before. Seriously, I don't think getting Bella to say yes to a marriage proposal from you is going to be a problem at all."

Edward breathed a sigh of relief,

"Whitlock, I hope you're right man. I'll just hold on to your reassurance to get me through the next couple of days."

They pulled into the parking garage of Nelson's gym both in much better mood than when they left the station.

****DBW****

When Edward and Jasper walked into the gym he walked towards the back to where his rarely used office was. He and Jasper were razzing each other about the size of their foreheads when Edward heard a throat clear. He turned around and was confronted with the loveliest yet most belligerent sight. It was his Aunt Carmen and she did not look happy.

"Hi, Aunt Carmen. You look very pretty today. You also look very angry, so I don't want to lean in for a kiss in case you're going to hit me." He winced waiting for the little woman to respond.

She crossed her arms over her slight frame and turned her cheek giving him permission to kiss her. Edward bent down and kissed his aunt. He tickled her side lightly and she dropped her arms laughing and he hugged her tightly picking her up off the ground slightly.

She hit him on the shoulder, "Don't try to distract me from being mad, EJ. I haven't heard from you in two weeks. Meanwhile, my son is married to your witnesses' best friend, who I adore by the way, and living clear across the country. You are in a relationship with your witness and apparently it's pretty serious. Some serial killer is threatening my family and there's a little girl I don't know that's calling you 'daddy.' Is there anything you would like to share with me personally or do I have to get all of my information piecemeal through different family members and Rick?"

Carmen Nelson was about 5'2" and 120 pounds. She had light brown skin with a reddish undertone; much like Edwards and large light brown eyes that resembled Ben's in color but not shape. Hers were more of an almond shape than the hound dog shape of her son's. She had a small mouth with full lips that looked like she was constantly pouting from displeasure with something until she smiled. Her smile was so wide it seemed like she had more than thirty-two teeth. It very literally lit up a room.

She was in her late fifties; however, she could've easily passed for a woman of thirty-six or thirty-seven. The only indicator of her age were the three smile lines next to the outside corner of each eye that didn't completely disappear when she stopped grinning and the few gray hairs mixed in with her braided hair. Her hair was pulled back into a pony-tail and she had on a one shouldered brown halter top that put her toned arms on display. She wore Jimmy Choo stiletto boots covered by her jeans that were cut to accommodate them and that also matched the color of her top. She still looked every bit the dancer she was before she married Edward's uncle. She had actually toured with the Alvin Ailey dance company and performed with the Dance Theater of Harlem. That was why she loved Edward's mother so much. They shared many of the same passions and Carmen was thrilled that one of Lizzie's was her baby brother. She and Edward Sr. were only a year apart in age but he was still her little brother.

When Ben and Edward were teenagers, their friends used to enthusiastically volunteer to go to Ben's house to hang out after school and on the weekends. He couldn't name one of the guys Ben was friends with in high school that didn't have a crush on his aunt. Emmett still got a little tongue-tied around her to this day and he had known her as his Aunt Carmen most of his life. Rose thinks it's cute that he still has a little crush on Carmen, although he's grown and married. Edward always jokingly gives him a hard time about it but Emmett just laughs and says, "She ain't my real aunt, Monster, and I ain't blind because I'm married."

Jasper cleared his throat and Edward remembered his manners and made introductions.

"I'm sorry, man. This is my little aunt, Carmen Nelson. Auntie, this is my partner, Jasper Whitlock."

Carmen smiled and extended her hand and Jasper took her hand gently and kissed the top of it,

"It's nice to meet such a lovely lady. I keep meeting all of these beautiful women that are related to Edward. I guess the women got all of the good looks in this family." He winked at Carmen and she laughed.

"Aren't you a charmer? I hear you have our little Alice walking on air. I can see why now, handsome."

Jasper actually blushed and looked down bashfully. Edward laughed at him.

"What? Is my partner speechless? Wait a minute! Let me pull out my camera phone and record this moment in history."

"Cullen, I can't say what I want to say to you in front of the lady, but use your imagination. I'm gonna go on up to the loft so you two can catch up. It was nice to meet you, Ms. Carmen."

"Likewise, Jasper and just call me Carmen. Maybe you can help me out and remind my nephew to call his aunt every now and again."

He smiled and kissed her hand again, "It'll be my pleasure to annoy him as much as possible"

He winked at her again and she laughed as he walked away towards the stairs to the loft.

"Well, it looks like Alice has her hands full with that one." She smiled widely.

"Don't get it twisted, auntie. She has him wrapped around her tiny finger."

She laughed loudly,

"I can believe that. Alice is a force of nature." She narrowed her eyes at him, "Don't think you're out of hot water, EJ. Let me see your hands."

He lifted his hands in front of her and she examined them closely turning them over in her little hands.

"Hmm…there's nothing wrong with them. They're not broken so you can dial a number. Why haven't I heard from you?"

"Auntie, I have this little serial killer case I'm working on. I'm protecting the killer's latest target and I'm in the middle of several different emotional crises. Can you give me a pass this time?"

She frowned at him,

"What emotional crises are you talking about?"

He motioned for her to follow him into his office and have a seat. He offered her some water, sat next to her and put his hands in hers like he did when he was a kid. He sat there with her holding his hands for a few seconds and finally spoke,

"I'm thinking about quitting the force, Aunt Carmen. Being a police officer doesn't feel like what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. I think I can be much more effective at affecting change just by working in the gym more often and getting more involved in the _Clean Slate_ program. I can buy a space and volunteer my time giving music and voice lessons. This job is just that to me right now…a chore.

I've failed sixteen young women with their whole lives in front of them. The only thing I feel passionate about and that I won't fail at is protecting Isabella and Amanda. On my more optimistic days, I've wondered what I will do once this mess with the Night Stalker is over, by the Grace of God. I want to make a life and be happy, auntie. I want kids and a chance to watch them grow up with Amanda as their big sister.

It would be different if I felt like what I do as a detective makes a real difference but I don't feel that it does. I mean, it makes a difference to the victims of the crimes but not on a larger preventative scale. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

She smiled at him and squeezed his hands back,

"Of course I understand. I never thought you should have stopped pursuing your music to become a police officer. Mom thought you would be good at it and that it would help you deal with your losses but you know mom and I clash on a lot of things. I never agreed with her on that. Don't get me wrong. You are good at your job but it's not helping you deal with your losses at all. Do what you need to be happy, EJ."

He smiled up at her and she patted his cheek,

"Tell me about Amanda."

He smiled even bigger,

"She is amazing, Carmen. She is so smart and insightful sometimes, like an old soul. I think she was born middle-aged and she's growing more so every day. Yet, she can be such a sweet kid with little kid ideas. Isabella told me she calls me daddy because that's what the other kids she's around call the guys that take care of them and their moms. She doesn't really understand the full meaning. She asked me if I was an angel when she first met me."

He laughed at the memory and the ridiculousness of the idea but Carmen didn't.

"That makes sense and you are an angel, EJ. You have light all around you. Sometimes I think that every good part of Lizzie and Edward's soul jumped into your body."

Edward shook his head at what his aunt was saying.

"I think you idealize me because I'm your brother's son. I'm not anything special, auntie. I'm a flawed and, at times, very selfish man. I want this relationship with Isabella to work. I'm willing to snatch her and run away from here so we can get away from this man, men, or sibling team…whatever's going on. I'll even use Platt money to do it. Isabella wants to stay here and be used as bait to stop this guy from killing other women. I know her heart is in the right place but we've both lost so much. I think it's time for us to start considering ourselves first."

She looked him in the eyes with a look of genuine concern,

"I hate it when you talk about Platt money like it's diseased. Your mother and Esme were Platts. Lizzie was and your mother is good people. Whether your grandparents liked it or not, you are a Platt. You have every right to use Lizzie's share of that money how you see fit to. As far as running away from this serial killer so you and Isabella can live happily ever after, stop kidding yourself, EJ. That's not going to happen. If you hear about him killing another woman after you leave, it would kill you inside. Also, what if he decides to follow you three and she and her sister end up being easier targets than they are now. No. You have to see this through to the end."

He nodded and squeezed her hands back and she continued,

"By the way, you do have flaws but selfishness is not one of them. You have a very generous spirit and I want you to stop beating up on yourself all of the time. That can't be good for you, sweetheart." She lovingly reached out and tugged on the bottom of his locks.

"Your hair is getting long again." He smiled because after his mother passed, Esme didn't really know what to do with his hair. She had never really cared for or combed hair of his texture before. So, Carmen would take him and Ben to the barber on the weekends and get his hair trimmed so that it was more manageable. He still had a little curly afro because he would cry like someone was trying to kill him when the barber tried to cut it lower than that. After it was trimmed, washed and conditioned, at least it was easier to comb and try to keep neat.

"I know. I'm going to the hairdresser tomorrow and getting it trimmed and everything. I'm hoping Isabella will agree to take a day off with me so we can go over to her place and see if anything's missing of importance and maybe just get out of here for a little while you know?" He paused and looked at his aunt who he personally felt he was the most like in a lot of ways.

"Aunt Carmen, can I ask you a personal question?"

She nodded and leaned forward in her chair giving him her full attention.

"Why are you alone? It's been…a while since Uncle Richard passed and you're a beautiful woman with a lot of years left to live. Why don't you date any of the men that ask you out?"

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and looked down like she was trying to figure out a way to answer. When she finally looked up, her eyes were a little misty but she didn't really look sad,

"You know your uncle was a Vietnam Vet. He was a Marine; semper fi and all that jazz. You know Ben was born in 1975, the year the war ended. I was twenty and your dad was just nineteen. He had just finished high school and was going into the military with no war going on. I felt like everything was new…a new life in the world and a new beginning for Richard with a clean slate." She smiled at Edward because that phrase had a lot of meaning in their family.

"We weren't married, which pissed your grandmother off royally but it was the civil rights, women's rights, and live free era. Also, I wasn't into the convention of marriage; besides…your uncle was sick. He had PTSD and he would go into these rages and have these horrible flashbacks and nightmares. He never hit me but I was scared of him at times. He couldn't hold down a job because of it. I told him if he didn't get some help, we wouldn't make it and I wouldn't be able to let him be around Ben alone. That forced him to go get some help finally because he knew I was completely serious."

Edward frowned because he had never heard about this side of his uncle. He couldn't imagine him in a rage or so sick his aunt threatened to take Ben away.

"Every time I saw Uncle Richard he had a huge smile on his face. He was so easygoing."

She smiled big, "That's because he was brave enough to go to counseling and lucky enough to get some medication that really helped him. A lot of Vets weren't that lucky. He had got on with the police department due to his military background and with the recommendation of my dad, your granddad. They didn't require college at that time. He was living on his own in a little two bedroom apartment with the one room especially decorated for Benji. He did it all by himself. He was so proud of that room."

Edward smiled at the thought of his uncle being proud of a room he made up for Ben.

"When Ben turned three, dad was shot and killed by a guy robbing a liquor store. Your uncle asked me to marry him. He said that he had already asked for my dad's permission and he had said okay. So, we were married at the beginning of 1979 because I couldn't imagine spending my life with another man and that's what he wanted. That was the year you were born and Edward and Lizzie had moved to Chicago to the house in Evergreen Park."

Ben was about four years older than Edward and Ben never let him forget it growing up. Those memories made Edward laugh a little.

"I had danced with Alvin Ailey the year I turned sixteen. I had danced with the Dance Theater of Harlem from the time I was seventeen until I was nineteen and became pregnant with Ben. I had an opportunity to live my dreams. So, I married your uncle with no regrets and no wistfulness. I fully intended to live with him until he or I died. I just never thought it would be as soon as it was."

She looked down and wiped her eyes,

"So I know I should keep living and I know Richard would want me to but I can't forget him. Inside of my heart, I'm still married to him. Maybe I should take my own advice and get some help, huh?"

"You don't have to forget him, auntie." Edward wiped a stray tear from her eyes. "You're a little person but your heart is big. You have room for more than one person. Look how many people you fit in there already." He winked at her and kissed her cheek.

"As far as seeing somebody to deal with your grief, that's probably a good idea for both of us. You went through a traumatic loss and you probably have to get some things off your chest. But, there's nothing wrong with you for feeling sad that you couldn't live your life with the man you loved enough to marry even though you didn't even believe in the institution."

She nodded and looked up at him with a smile on her face,

"You sneaky little devil. I'm supposed to be ripping you a new one for neglecting me. I'll let it pass this time but don't let it happen again."

He hugged his tiny aunt and pulled her up out of her seat by her hand.

"I won't. Come on upstairs. I want you to meet my girls."

As they were walking out of his office, they ran into Enrique. He stopped walking and his eyes focused on Carmen. His cheeks turned bright red and he smiled shyly.

"Hi, Carmen. I didn't know you were coming by today. How are you doing?"

He looked completely embarrassed that he was all sweaty and sticky from his training. She waved her hand at him and gave him a tight hug and reached up on her toes slightly and kissed his cheek. He turned even redder and Edward didn't think that was possible.

They stood and talked for a minute or two and Edward watched them interact. It was obvious that they found each other attractive. He always thought they would make a good couple. Enrique hadn't dated anyone seriously since his wife passed about ten years prior. He was Ben's godfather and Ben adored Enrique. Edward was wondering what he would have to do exactly to get those two to get their heads out of their asses.

When he finally realized Edward was standing there, he punched him on the shoulder hello. That shit hurt like the devil. He was going to have to remind him one day that he still hit like a freight train and he couldn't just punch people willy nilly.

****DBW****

He walked with his aunt up to his loft and was happy to see his brother sitting there putting Jasper through the ringer. He was the third arm of the big brother scare tactic. However, Jasper was holding up like a champ.

Isabella, Alice and Amanda were nowhere in sight. As soon as Emmett saw Carmen, he turned beet red and stood up. He walked up to her and gave her a tight, yet gentle hug.

She smiled up at him,

"Nephew, how in the hell are you still growing and why haven't I heard from you, either?"

Edward laughed and waggled his eyebrows at Emmett. He surreptitiously gave him the finger. He finally released her completely and said,

"I don't know. I guess my body is on par with Edward's head."

She laughed loudly and Edward couldn't even get mad at him for that one. It was funny.

"Ok. I'll give you that one, Animal. Be forewarned. Payback is coming." He lightly punched Emmett's shoulder and was hoping to high heaven that he didn't hit him back. He was still smarting from Enrique's punch. Those two were stronger than they realized. Mere mortals had to be cautious.

He rolled his eyes at Edward, "Anyway, I'm sorry, Aunt Carmen. Pre-season, Emily and Rose keep me hopping. Plus, Rose and I are doing those fundraisers for Narcotics, Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon."

She patted his shoulder,

"Well, at least you have a real reason." She eyeballed Edward who blushed a little.

"Where's my little Alice?" As if on cue, Alice came running down the stairs with Amanda and Isabella in tow behind her.

"Carmen! What are you doing here, jazzy lady?" She almost knocked Carmen over hugging her.

Carmen laughed and hugged her back,

"I came here to see my long lost nephew who can't seem to find it in his busy schedule to call me anymore." Edward looked remorseful and Alice laughed.

"Well, I'm a good niece. I call you all of the time and I'm busy too." She stuck her tongue out at Edward and Emmett and they laughed.

Isabella and Amanda were standing by the couch looking a little left out. Edward walked over and pulled his Isabella into a tight hug. He whispered into her ear,

"I want you and Amanda to meet my father's big sister, baby." She smiled up at him.

He gently placed the hand that wasn't holding Amanda's in his and walked them over to his aunt.

"Aunt Carmen, this is my lady, Isabella Swan, and her baby sister Amanda. Isabella and Amanda, this is my little Aunt Carmen."

Carmen rolled her eyes at the 'little Aunt Carmen' comment.

Isabella released her hand from Amanda's and held it out to her. Her cheeks were crimson again. He supposed she was embarrassed by the way he introduced her. It was just something she was going to have to get used to. She was his as long as she allowed and he was proud of the person she was.

Carmen slapped her hand away and motioned with her eyes for Edward to let go of her and he happily complied. She pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. She pulled back and really looked at her. Isabella was a little shy under the scrutiny.

"Isabella Swan…I know this pretty face. This is the face of the baby my brother used to say was going to marry his son here. We have a Polaroid of you from the day you were born. You're Charles Swan's daughter."

Isabella's eyes widened and she looked at Edward.

"What? You thought I was lying? You know I don't lie to you, baby."

She was still blushing but she smiled big at Carmen and said,

"Thanks for the compliment. You look more like Edward's slightly elder sister than his aunt."

She smiled and said, "I like her, Edward. She knows exactly what to say to get on my good side." She winked at Bella and bent down to be eye level with Amanda.

She gasped a little when she looked at her,

"Well, don't you have the prettiest eyes I think I've ever seen?"

Amanda looked down as she tended to do when she was thinking over questions intently,

"I don't know. I haven't seen the other people's eyes you've seen."

Edward laughed hard at that one and everyone was chuckling at her, including Carmen.

"Well, I guess I should rephrase that into a statement. You have the prettiest eyes I've ever seen."

Amanda smiled big and said,

"Thanks! You look like a doll."

Carmen smiled and gave her a hug.

"I have to take you to the American Doll Store downtown so we can have lunch and pick out a nice doll for you."

She hopped up and down excitedly and looked up at Bella who nodded at her and smiled.

"Well, let's all have a seat. Something smells good, EJ? What's cooking around here."

Bella spoke up,

"I put some baked chicken in the oven. I'm making mushroom risotto and a nice big garden salad. Can you stay for dinner? I was going to invite Rick up, too."

Edward noticed Carmen smiled wistfully at the mention of his name.

"That sounds good, Isabella."

Bella put her hand on Carmen's shoulder and said,

"It's just Bella, Ms. Carmen."

Carmen beamed back, "Well, it's just Carmen, Ms. Bella. Do you need any help?"

She smiled proudly,

"Nope. I have everything under control."

Alice pulled Amanda over to the couch to watch _The Wizard of Oz_. Alice was convinced she needed an education in children's movie classics. Edward knew Isabella would've much preferred Amanda to read the books rather than see the movies first. However, she was letting Alice bond with Amanda, which he was very glad about.

Carmen sat on the couch between Jasper and Emmett. Edward laughed at how Emmett always squirmed a little when Carmen was near him. Jasper looked at Edward smiling because he noticed it too and Edward nodded his head at the unspoken question and Jasper laughed. Their actions caused Emmett to scowl a little and Carmen to give them all an odd look, but Emmett wasn't really angry. Carmen was beautiful. He couldn't help it.

****DBW****

Amazingly enough, Emmett resisted eating and left before dinner was served after 6p.m. He had to be at home for when Rose's shift started. She had already cooked for him. Nobody wanted to see Emmett feel the wrath of Rose if he ate before he got home and she had cooked for him.

As he walked out, Enrique walked in freshly showered and dressed casually in jeans and a deep brown button down shirt that was rolled up at the sleeves past his forearms. He had on cowboy boots that Edward let him know he could take off and relax. He sat his right next to the ones Jasper took off by the door. He was freshly shaved and his hair was neatly gelled. Edward noticed he had on a little cologne, as well. He smiled and patted his shoulder guiding him to a seat right next to Carmen at the table. She smiled big at him and grabbed his hand and squeezed it and he his face looked like it visibly heated up.

Edward walked into the kitchen, leaned down and whispered into Isabella's ear,

"You have to help me. I'm trying to help my aunt realize that she has feelings for Rick. She feels guilty about having feelings for anyone other than my uncle."

She peered over at them at the table and how they seemed to lean into their own little world when they spoke to each other.

"Hmmm…They would make a beautiful couple. I think a little music is in order for after dinner. Maybe we can get them to dance together. Your aunt is a dancer right?"

He nodded enthusiastically, "You have no idea. She still teaches ballroom and Latin at a little school around the corner from her place. I'll pick something out."

"What? You don't trust my musical tastes?"

He smiled,

"I don't trust anyone's musical taste. I've been told I'm a snob."

She laughed and nodded her head having no problem believing that.

Edward sniffed the air.

"What is it that smells so sweet?"

Isabella smiled and motioned for him to bend down so she could whisper in his ear like he always did to her,

"I made two strawberry swirl cheesecakes; one for the family and one for you." She nibbled on his earlobe before she pulled back from him to see the expression on his face.

He moaned from the nibble and gasped at her,

"You made a cheesecake with strawberries just for me?"

She nodded energetically at him.

He kissed her softly and rubbed his nose against hers,

"You didn't have to do that, baby."

She shrugged and said,

"Of course I didn't. I wanted to. You deserve something special every now and again. You did chase a killer for me today."

He peered into her eyes and kissed her deeply. She sighed happily,

"That was probably the sweetest, yet strangest thing anyone has ever said to me. Will you take the day off with me tomorrow?"

She frowned and thought about it.

"I don't know about tomorrow but I want to take Friday off for Amanda's birthday party."

He nodded considering her thoughts,

"Okay. I can reschedule my appointment with my stylist at the salon for Friday morning. I want you to come with me. I still want you to go with me tomorrow after work to your apartment so we can take a look and see if anything's missing. Will you have time?"

She nodded, "Absolutely. I'll have the cake done Thursday night. Wednesday's too early. In fact, I'll have two made in case something happens to one of them. I should be free all day until the party Friday since Alice is taking care of everything on the planning side. So, we could even go by my place then if tomorrow doesn't work out."

She was always very practical. She wasn't the neatest person in the world, but she was definitely a planner. She also had a strong work ethic that he really loved and she was teaching Amanda about discipline and ethics; things that would serve her well throughout her life. He couldn't wait for her to be the mother of his children.

As soon as that thought entered his head, he squeezed Isabella closer to him. He was standing with his arms around her waist from behind while she was cutting up and rinsing the vegetables for the garden salad. He could easily imagine them in a house they purchased together that was noisy and full of kids with her doing the things she loved to do for the rest of their lives. He wanted her to have her own space for writing, editing and just dreaming. He couldn't wait to talk to Jacob.

"Baby, are you sure you don't want me to help chop or anything?"

She smiled,

"Nope. You already set the table and uncorked the wine bottles. Go and entertain your company." He smooched her on her neck and she giggled as he walked out of what he was quickly thinking of as their kitchen.

****DBW***

Dinner was nice. Edward had cut up Amanda's chicken into bite sized pieces and cut up her salad too. He didn't give her a whole plate full of salad. He just put a small amount on the plate with the rest of her food. The spiciness of the food didn't seem to bother her at all. She had milk and water in wine glasses with everyone else. It made her feel special so he was glad to accommodate her.

The baked chicken was Cajun or Creole flavored. Everyone praised Isabella's cooking. The spiciness of the chicken paired with the strong, yet soothing, tastes of the Cabernet Sauvignon and the woodsy tastes of the mushrooms in the risotto were excellent. Edward had piped classical music throughout the house while they were eating. One of the pieces on his playlist was _Clair de Lune _by Claude Debussy. He caught Isabella's eye out of his periphery as the soft piano melodies played and she smiled sweetly at him. He asked her what she was smiling about and she said,

"My mom used to play this every Sunday morning while she was reading or puttering around the house. It was the one consistency I could count on from her. It's one of my favorites." She said this with her eyes closed rocking slightly from side to side in a nostalgic trance, he supposed. It also could have been the potency of the red wine.

_Clair de Lune_ was one of the first classical pieces he learned that he really loved and held personal sentiment for him. Everything else seemed like a chore for him to learn up until that point. He was entering puberty when he learned that piece and everything about it reminded him of the girls that he was quickly becoming interested in. It was no surprise to him that it was also one of Isabella's favorites. The things that linked them were becoming normal.

They talked about everything from politics to how the kids were doing in the _Clean Slate _program. Amanda was listening intently and seemed to be following what was being said with some understanding to Edward's surprise. They finally asked Amanda about how her schooling was going and what she was learning. Amanda didn't prattle on and on like some kids did until someone had to stop her. She said,

"It's going well, thank you," to everyone's, including Isabella's, surprise.

Carmen asked, "Well now, how did you get to be so polite?

She beamed and said that Peter was teaching her "_eddie kit_" and how to dine out in public during lunch hour. It took a second for everyone to figure out she was trying to say, '_etiquette_." They all nodded and said that Peter would be very proud of her. She glowed under the attention.

Carmen asked if she could keep Amanda overnight and take her to the American Doll store downtown the next day. Isabella said no at first but she relented after Amanda said she would do home schooling with her on Sunday to make up for the day she missed during the week. Alice had asked Isabella if she could just keep her with her for the rest of the week because she didn't want her to see the cake that Isabella was baking for her and the planning for the party was basically over. The only thing she had left to do was decorate the yard in Naperville. She was staying with Jazz in Shirley's apartment above the diner so Bella would still see her during the day and Peter could home school her from there.

She looked sad for a minute but seeing how excited Amanda looked with all of the attention she was getting made her let everyone have her little sister for the rest of the week. Amanda was bouncing up and down and ran up the stairs to pack a little bag for herself which Isabella knew was going to consist of Bobo, a toothbrush and a battered copy of _Charlotte's Web_ that Isabella was reading to her before bed. Isabella didn't worry about clothes for her when she was with Alice. So she helped her pack an outfit and pajamas for her time with Carmen. She warned Carmen that she was allergic to shellfish so they would be cautious of what they fed her.

Amanda and Alice settled in front of the T.V. to finish watching The _Wizard of Oz _while sharing a slice of Bella's cheesecake. Everyone said it was silky and decadent tasting.

Jasper, Carmen, Enrique and Bella sat at the dining table sipping on glasses of sparkly dessert wine and drinking coffee after having a slice of cheesecake. They were staring up through the ceiling at another clear night. Edward had changed the music and had isolated it to just his room and another special area that he hadn't even shown Isabella. He believed he had a brilliant idea and couldn't wait to implement his plan.

Jasper got up and walked into the front room to watch the rest of the movie with Alice and Amanda. Edward motioned for everyone else to follow him and they walked up the flight to his sleeping area. Isabella didn't know what he was doing but he motioned with his head for them to follow him to a door at the end of the hall. He opened it and, of course, there was another flight of stairs. Isabella shook her head and chuckled a little. He knew he was reinforcing her Bruce Wayne/Batman theories.

They walked up a single flight and when Edward opened the door a breeze of fragrant, yet fresh cool night air washed over them. He led them onto his rooftop garden with a seating area and a pitted stone fireplace similar to the one in his living room. There was a greenhouse with lots of lush plants and beautiful roses of all colors, outdoor lighting for the evening and a deck of sorts that was perfect for a small band or…dancing. Isabella was amazed that this kind of space could fit up here and there was still space for sky lights. Actually, the sky lights could be closed, which added more floor space to the roof and caused the lighting in the loft to brighten automatically in compensation.

She smiled up at Edward because of the music that was playing. It was Nat King Cole's version of, "When I Fall in Love." The fireplace was lit and there were also a couple of bottles of wine chilling next to the seating area. It was a very romantic setting.

There was a tall fence of sorts surrounding his rooftop to give him privacy. None of his neighbors would've even known he had a rooftop space unless he had invited them up, which he hadn't, or they saw it being built. This was really Esme's space. The roses came from his biological mother's grave site. The rose garden at the Naperville house was just as beautiful as the one here and she showed him how to care for them when she wasn't there. Edward did as he was taught faithfully and didn't even cut one unless he had permission.

Carmen inhaled deeply and smiled big.

"I can smell Esme's roses. That's heavenly."

Her face glowed in the moonlight and her eyes twinkled against the artificial lighting and Edward could see Enrique melt as he looked at her adoringly.

"Aunt Carmen, why don't you show Enrique here how to cut a rug? You know he can move his feet in the ring but he has two left feet when it comes to dancing."

Enrique scowled at him and shook his head slightly at Edward but Carmen's eyes widened and she looked so excited that he caved and allowed himself to be pulled towards the make-shift dance floor.

The music changed to, "Darlin', Darlin' Baby (Sweet, Tender Love)," by the O'Jays. He figured he could just let the O'Jays and The Whispers play until they were ready to confess their love to each other. He smiled sinisterly as he guided Isabella over to the chairs and leaned back on a chaise with her back pressed to his front.

They both chuckled as they watched Enrique try to keep up with his Aunt Carmen's steps. In fact, she was steppin', that purely Chicago-style dance that his biological father used to dance with him standing on his feet when he was a kid . They were all laughing and he and Bella clapped as the song came to an end.

The next song that played he thought Enrique might be more familiar with, so he threw that it in for good measure as a fun song for them,

It was "Smooth," by Carlos Santana. They did a nice little cha cha to that one and Edward and Isabella whistled and clapped at them when that song ended. Carmen looked at them and put her hands on her hips as she walked towards them hardly out of breath.

"Uhm, excuse me peanut gallery, I think you two young people need to stop watching and participate."

Isabella's eyes grew big and she shook her head no while blurting out,

"I can't dance. I don't want to embarrass myself, fall and bust my as…I mean butt."

Carmen held out her hands and said, "It's all in the leading."

Edward smiled at her while he pushed her towards his aunt for a dance lesson. Enrique sat down next to Edward as they walked to the deck. Enrique gave him the evil eye and mouthed,

"_What do you think you're doing?"_

Edward widened his eyes innocently and shrugged his shoulders. Rick punched him again right in the same spot as before.

"Ow! Damn, Rick. I should arrest you for that shit. Your hands are still considered lethal weapons."

"Well, it's a good thing there aren't any laws against being a little sneaky meddlesome match-maker or you'd definitely be in jail right now."

He shrugged his shoulders again,

"I don't like you that much, Rick. Why in the world would I try to hook up with you when I'm already in love with Isabella?"

Rick reached out like he was going to ring Edward's neck and he put his hands up,

"Okay. Would you rather, A) Beat me to a pulp, or B) Watch Carmen dance to a sexy reggae beat?"

"Turn Your Lights Down Low," a remake of a Bob Marley tune with Lauryn Hill was playing.

Isabella was laughing as Carmen was showing her how to do a very modest Jamaican dutty wine with isolated hip action. Edward was mesmerized by watching Isabella struggle slightly to do vertically what she seemed to do automatically when she was horizontal with him. Rick forgot his anger and sat back in a little trance of his own.

Then, "Say Yes," by The Whispers came on and Carmen and Isabella motioned with their fingers for them to come over and dance with them. Rick was up out of his seat before Edward had a chance to register what was going on. He had pulled Carmen into his arms and was slow dancing with her in a simple side to side motion and a tight embrace. With his socked feet and Carmen's stilettos, their height difference wasn't that great. They looked perfectly matched in every way.

Edward walked up to Isabella smiling and wiggling his eyebrows. She snickered at him and let him fold her up into his embrace. Their height difference made it difficult to dance without him practically bending in half. However, it still felt intimate as her head was tucked under his chin and her lips were against his chest over his heart and he had her hand tucked against his chest in his hand and they rocked slowly from side to side. He would softly kiss her on top of her strawberry scented hair while they danced. He couldn't wait until he could get her alone.

As the part of the song that he thought was written just for them came up, he sang them softly in her ear with his eyes closed,

_Have you ever been kissed from head to toe_

_down your back around to your navel?_

_Well, you've got that coming my sweet_

_and even more tricks and treats._

_I'm willing and I'm able_

_because I love you_…

_really, really love you and _

_I'm so damn proud of you baby._

_Say yes._

_I will do the rest._

She tightened her grip on his waist and he heard her moan a little. He lifted her chin up and looked into her eyes that were reflecting everything he felt for her at that moment. He kissed her softly on her lips. She whispered in his ear,

"You're in trouble now, Detective Tootsie Roll. I told you about what your singing does to me." She smiled at him salaciously and sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. If he were smart, he would probably be a little frightened with how she was looking at him. However, he was thinking seriously about how wonderful it would be…death by exhaustion from an Isabella attack and he felt a little happy about it. A seriously goofy grin spread across his face and she just laughed at him. Carmen laughed at them while she shook her head from side to side and Rick was smiling widely too.

"Well, I better head on out if I'm taking Amanda with me. I'm sure her bedtime is coming up soon, right Bella."

Bella nodded and said,

"I usually try to get her put down by 9:30. She'll try to get up at least six more times if she's not already sleep when you put her to bed. So, it ends up being more like 10 o'clock."

Carmen laughed and told a story about the tricks Ben used to stay up later. They all laughed because it was no problem imagining a baby Ben trying to stay up as late as possible. He was still a big kid.

Carmen turned shyly to Rick and said,

"Thanks for the dances and the company."

He softly kissed the top of both of her hands and said,

"You know it was sincerely my pleasure, Carmen."

She spoke the next words so quietly Edward wouldn't have even known she was speaking if she didn't see her lips moving,

"Rick, if you're not busy tomorrow, why don't you come by my place around 6:30 a.m.? I'll make you some breakfast and you could go downtown with us. I know it's a girly outing but…I don't know…I thought you might like to come with us."

He practically yelled,

"Yes!" All three of them jumped a little.

He calmed down and repeated,

"Yes, I would love to go downtown with you and Amanda. I've been to that store before with my nephew's baby girl. I know my way around." He smiled proudly and Carmen seemed really happy he wanted to go.

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow then."

He looked into her eyes, "Wild horses couldn't keep me away. I'll be right on time. I might even be early."

She smiled demurely but anybody could see how excited she was. Edward bumped Isabella's shoulder and they gave each other a low-key high five. The sparks had ignited. There was officially a fire between his aunt and Rick.

****DBW****

They hugged Amanda good-bye as she left with Carmen with her overnight backpack and Rick walked them to their car. Edward felt good about Rick watching out for his aunt and Amanda. He couldn't imagine anybody being stupid enough to walk up on him and try to do anything to his family.

However, just to be on the safe side for the next day, he called friends that worked at Area 2, downtown, and asked if he could have someone keep a close eye on all three of them while they were at the American Doll Store. One particular guy owed him a favor, so he was glad to help.

After he got off the phone, he looked around for Isabella and she was gone. He thought she must've been upstairs. Jasper and Alice had already cleaned up the kitchen and put the dishes away. They left a few minutes before Carmen, Enrique and Amanda.

He called Pete to tell him that he didn't need to come by the next morning and what their plans were. He said he would email Isabella his lesson plan for the day so they could stay on track but he seemed a little relieved to be able to focus on his editing that day. He had snuck his mother's engagement ring out of its drawer earlier in the night, took a picture of it and emailed it to Angela. He was still waiting anxiously for a response from her.

He made sure the fire was out on the rooftop fireplace, re-corked the wine bottles and turned everything off for the night. He dragged his weary bones into his bedroom to get ready for bed for the night and what he saw made him stop cold but warmed up his body. Bella was in his bed wearing his police uniform shirt and the heels she had on the other day with a slice of strawberry swirl cheesecake on a plate laying on her stomach.

He walked up to the bed slowly and approached her as she lay there casually with her legs crossed at the ankles like she wasn't aware she looked like an offering to the virility gods

"Officer Puddin', I don't see a fork. How should I eat this slice of cheesecake?" She laughed that shoulder shaking laugh he adored.

"I have a new name now. I think I like Officer Puddin'."

He smiled and climbed up the bed until he was kneeling at her feet. His romance playlist was still playing in the bedroom. Isabella sat up carefully, put the plate with the cheesecake in her hands and said,

"Let me feed you."

His body immediately responded to all the implications of that simple requests and all the blood left the brain between his shoulders and rushed to the brain between his legs. His mouth went dry and he just nodded and waited for her to do what she wanted with him.

The music changed to "After the Dance," by Fourplay. He thought it was very appropriate for the moment and he smiled. These lyrics never had more meaning,

_While we danced  
Let's break this baby  
You were so fine  
The way you moved me  
Your warm eyes  
Told me one thing  
Oh baby, there was a vibe between you and me  
That you needed my sweet lovin', baby  
_  
_Nobody else's girl, nobody's love my baby  
That's how'd I feel if I was with you  
I want you to take me with you  
What'cha gonna do_

Isabella took a piece of the cake off the plate with her fingers and offered it to him. He grabbed her wrist and took the offer by gently sucking the cheesecake off of her fingers. He moaned at the mixture of the taste of the treat and his Isabella's little strawberry scented and cheesecake covered fingers. He reached out and tugged on his uniform shirt.

"Where did you find this, sweetheart? I thought I was going to have to dig for days to find this."

He moved closer to her as she offered him another piece of cheesecake.

"If I tell you, I'd have to kill you. You're much more useful to me alive."

She winked at him and he reached out and pulled her closer to him by her waist. He took the plate out of her hands after he ate the second bite. It was honestly the best fucking cheesecake he had ever tasted. If he could think clearly later, he was definitely going to suggest she ask his grandmother if they could serve it at the diner. However, he had a much more delectable dish in front of him. He grabbed her hand and guided her to move towards the edge of the bed.

"Stand up for me and let me get a better view of you in those heels, baby." She stood up and turned around slowly for him.

She smiled at him as she was turning, "Is this everything you imagined it would be." She was giggling because she obviously didn't think her in that shirt with nothing underneath was a big deal.

He pulled her towards him and said,

"The real thing is much better than anything I could've ever imagined."

She stopped giggling and looked down blushing. He picked her chin up because he hated it when she didn't look at him.

"Isabella, I don't know how to get through to you that you're beautiful to me. I guess I'm going to have to keep proving it to you again and again. Work, work, work." He huffed like it was a chore and she laughed at him. They locked eyes and he felt overwhelmed with feelings for her. He wanted to say something clever but all that came out was,

"Baby, make love to me, please."

Her mouth fell open and she looked nervous and excited simultaneously. He kissed her bottom lip and smiled at her.

"Don't be nervous, sweetheart. You don't ever have to be nervous with me. Just show me you love me by how you touch me and kiss me." He kissed her again softly hoping it would relax her.

She still looked nervous,

"What if you don't like what I do?"

He looked at her in amazement and chuckled,

"I don't think there's much chance of that happening in this lifetime. We don't even have to have sex. I just want to feel what I see in your eyes."

He smiled reassuringly at her and she stared into his eyes searching for whatever it is she looks for from him there. She finally smiled a little deviously, actually. He was very happy to be Edward Cullen at that moment.

****DBW****

_**A/N: I'm ending here. I want to thank Humble4 for guiding me through this chapter bit by bit. I don't know why I had such a hard time. I also want to thank Aniseed who is busy working on a new story (check out her profile: /u/2259881/Aniseed) but still takes time out of her busy schedule to beta my little story and I really appreciate it. Thanks to Thaigher Lillie for the constant encouragement and ego boosts. Since I'm just finishing a chapter and not accepting a friggin' Academy Award. I'll end here.**_

_**P.S. I was nominated in several categories at the sunflowerawards blog I mentioned in the last chapter. Thanks so much for that! Voting starts in May. I'll put up other reminders as we get closer to the date. Happy reading and enjoy your week!**_

_**The Bud Billikin parade is the largest African-American parade that occurs yearly in the U.S. It's always held the second Saturday in August and it marks the beginning of the school year in Chicago. ****The parade focuses on the kids and making sure they have a good school year. Lately there's been a picnic at the end of the parade, too. However, there's plenty of food along the parade route before you get to the actual picnic. I've only been once. I usually watch it on TV. :)**_


	21. Chapter 21

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**A/N: I want to thank Humble4, Aniseed and Thaigher Lillie for being my version of a dream team. **_

Chapter 21- Emmett's Story

Looking into his eyes that were a mixture of content and hungry made her feel so many different things. She would do just about anything he asked but she had never been asked to take control and that made her very nervous. However, when he told her that making love was something more than having sex with him and that she didn't have to ever be nervous with him her whole heart exploded with love and lust for him and her sex wept with excitement for whatever was coming.

She not only wanted to be in control of his body, she felt like she needed it at that moment. She felt beautiful, sexy, wanted and powerful all at the same time. Knowing that this is what it felt like to be loved just as much as you loved the other person made her a mixture of angry and happy. She felt happy that she finally found him and she felt angry that it took three other failed relationships to get here. On the other hand, she appreciated being with Edward so much more because of her past experiences. He was so damn beautiful, inside and out.

Isabella grinned lustfully at all of this man that was hers sitting in front of her waiting patiently to be loved,

"Lay back, my love." He did as he was told and scooted back towards the middle of the bed. She bent down to take off her heels and he actually whimpered but he didn't say anything.

"What? Should I keep them on?" He nodded enthusiastically and she laughed at him and climbed on the bed up his long body and straddled his waist. She tapped her chin and wondered with glee where she should begin.

"Take off your shirt, sweetie."

He sat up and ripped his shirt off quickly and she covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile. He just waited for her to tell him what to do next.

"Lift up your arms for me."

He lifted up his arms and she immediately pulled his t-shirt over his head. She was too short to pull it over his arms from a seated position so she had to kneel to get it all the way off which placed her breasts right in front of his mouth. She was tempted to ask for her own pleasure but she looked at his eyes and the trust she saw there and felt the overwhelming need to focus on him. He had on too many clothes. She wanted to see all of him.

She reached down and unbuttoned his jeans and inhaled sharply…she didn't see any briefs. She looked up at him quickly with wide eyes. He looked a little embarrassed and said,

"I was in a hurry this morning because of our shower activities…oops. I guess I forgot something." She laughed hard at him and he joined in and said,

"I was wondering why I felt so free today."

She laughed even harder and asked him to lift his hips. After he complied, she tugged his jeans down and his manhood that was already leaking and waiting for attention fell back against his stomach. She leisurely slid them down his long muscular legs and bare feet. She kissed and nibbled on his legs inch by inch all the way back up to his stomach. She licked him from his stomach over his Adam's apple and to his chin. He sighed happily and lay back all the way as she straddled his waist again.

She intertwined her fingers with his and whispered,

"Can you keep your hands to yourself for a little while?" He nodded with such an earnest look that she felt compelled to kiss him on the cheek.

"Turn over." He turned over on to his stomach, folded his hands so that his elbows stuck out on either side and laid his cheek on them waiting for her next move.

She leaned in and whispered softly, "I'll be right back. Don't move."

He grinned widely and said, "Yes, ma'am, Officer Puddin'."

She walked quickly into the bathroom and got his Jamaican Rum Punch body lotion. He told her it was a little too fruity smelling for him, so he kept it around for Emily when she spent the night. She loved the way it smelled and she didn't think he would mind if she used it.

She came back into the room and he was still in the same position. She was hoping he hadn't fallen asleep that quickly. She climbed back onto the bed and leaned in to see if she had to cut her fun short.

"Are you sleeping?"

He turned his head to face her, "Are you kidding? Nuh uh."

She grinned and resumed her position straddling his waist. She poured some lotion on her hands and rubbed them together so it would be warm. She finally rubbed her hands across his shoulders, down his arms almost to his elbows massaging and kneading his muscles. He had knots of tension in his neck that she really wanted to make melt away. Every time her fingers and the heels of her hands dug into his muscles he sighed and moaned a little. She could feel the bad stuff from the day leaving his body.

She heard a first few notes of a song that sounded like a harp. It was a song she recognized from when she was much younger,

"This is "Slow Wine" by Tony! Toni! Tone! I love this song!"

He nodded and peered over his shoulder at her,

"Yeah, you know it's about that thing you do with your hips when we make love."

She had no idea what he was talking about but she'd ask him about it later. She continued to massage the lotion into his shoulders and his neck and peppering him with kisses everywhere she touched him. Every time she kissed him he moaned and muttered to himself. She couldn't hear what he was saying but it made her heart soar that she could make him react like that. She moved down his body and rubbed the lotion into his lower back where she saw a tattoo she had noticed before but had never really examined.

It was '_Masen'_ in beautiful script etched into a musical staff like the notes of a song.

She licked and kissed every letter as he moaned deeply and ground his hips against the bed.

"Baby, can I touch you now?" Her heart filled with desire for him and her body protested against her brain when she told him not yet.

She put more lotion on her hands and rubbed it into his bottom. She bit him lightly on each cheek and he laughed. She moved down to his legs and rubbed lotion into his calves and thighs.

"Turn over, sweetie."

He turned over and he placed his hands behind his head. His eyes were almost all green but he was controlling himself just because she asked him to. She knew he it was taking a lot of effort to control himself because he was fully erect and his hips were restless. She could completely relate but still covered him up with a sheet so she could concentrate on other things.

She straddled his waist again and began again with the massage right over his heart. She rubbed and kneaded his chest and paid particular attention to his nipples with her hands and her tongue. She nibbled on and lightly bit his pecs and massaged more lotion into his stomach over his defined ab muscles. She kissed him over each rib and he giggled and wiggled like a little boy.

She pulled the sheet down and really looked at him. He was so sexy and she couldn't believe he was hers. Reaching over to the cheesecake that was beginning to melt, she broke off a piece and smeared it over his right pec and over his nipple. She put the plate back down on the nightstand and wiggled her eyebrows at him. She licked slowly in circles until she reached his nipple and bit down lightly on it. He moaned out loudly, grabbed her bottom and flipped them over.

"That's it! I can't take it anymore." He ripped his uniform shirt open and slid it down her arms and tossed it behind him, buttons flying everywhere. He reached down and gently brought one of her legs up and over his shoulder. He slid the zipper down on one shoe pulled it off, tossing it to the side. He kissed her instep and massaged her toes before repeating the action with the other leg.

She tsked at him, "You ruined a perfectly good uniform shirt. What will my captain say when he sees me topless?"

He looked at her half jokingly and half serious, "Let me catch some other motherfucka looking at you topless."

She laughed because he was really cute when he was jealous, although she was a little concerned about him being jealous over an imaginary captain.

He reached for a piece of the cheesecake and smeared it over her belly button. He dipped his tongue in and scooped up the treat, nibbling around until he had licked the cake clean from her stomach. There was something so sensual about that it didn't even feel ticklish at that moment. He kept dipping his tongue in her belly button and kissing and sucking on her stomach he lightly brushed his fingers against the lips of her sex and she came suddenly and strongly. They were both sweating and the room was filled with the smell of strawberries, tropical rum punch, and sex. He moaned and entered her with his fingers turning his wrist to stroke her g-spot and she came again within the span of a few minutes.

She pushed his shoulders and rolled him over so she was astride him again. She gently grabbed his cock and rubbed him up and down spreading his moisture up and down from the shaft to the tip. Everything about him felt luxurious and rich. She spread the last bit of cheesecake over him and watched as his eyes widened in surprise as she scooted down his body and took him all the way into her mouth. They both moaned loudly and he buried his hands in her hair.

"Isabella! I fucking love the way it feels when I'm in your mouth."

She licked him from shaft to tip and twirled her tongue around his head until the cheesecake was gone. He flipped her over again and entered her swiftly. They both cried out from the intensity and the suddenness of the pleasure, the electricity they shared and the warmth of their connection.

He was panting and in between thrusts he moaned out, "I want to be inside you when I come, baby. I love you so fucking much. I need to be connected to you." She nodded. She couldn't really form words at the moment, but she understood what he was saying perfectly.

She wrapped her legs around him and met him thrust for thrust.

"That's what I'm talking about. There's that slow wine. I love the way you move against me, baby."

He moaned deeply into her neck and squeezed her hips with his hands and she realized that she was winding her hips against him like Carmen had showed her earlier on the dance floor.

Sweat poured from his head and body and she welcomed it, trying to pull him even closer to her. He had intertwined his hands with hers and was looking into her eyes. Everything was so intense and she felt like she was about to pass out until he said,

"Stay with me, baby. I'm gonna come. Can you come with me?" She nodded because she was on the edge again. He let go of one her hands and Bella reached up and touched his face. She needed to be connected to him in every way possible.

He reached between them and gently rubbed her clit and she yelled out his name from the intensity of the orgasm that hit her and clenched around him. He was chanting her name and thrusting erratically. He grabbed her face between his hands and they locked eyes as they both fell over the edge together. She watched as his head fell back and the veins in his neck popped out and his mouth fell open. His eyes were closed breaking the bond they had with their eyes but she loved watching him come undone. If she had any talent as a painter or a photographer and she would paint or take a picture of it to keep with her forever.

He kissed her all over her face and finally kissed her softly on her lips. They deepened the kiss pulling each other's tongues into the other's mouth. A soft sensual dance that she wanted to last forever but couldn't as they had to breathe.

"Thank you, baby. I needed you so much."

He finally realized tears were streaming down her face and reacted frantically.

"Why are you crying? Oh my god! Are you okay? Shit! I said I was going to be gentle with you from now on."

He broke their intimate connection to her dismay and turned on the lights quickly searching her body for where he had hurt her.

She stopped him,

"Edward you didn't hurt me. I'm fine. Sometimes when I get…overwhelmed I cry."

She grabbed his face with both of her hands and kissed his nose tenderly.

He looked skeptical, "Are you sure?" He gently wiped the tears from her eyes.

She nodded and stroked his cheek. He gently kissed her palm and she started chuckling.

"Edward, I keep telling you I'm not fragile. I won't break." He nodded and kissed her cheek and neck. She knew it would take some more convincing.

"You want to take a bath with me? We're kind of sticky."

She laughed and nodded.

"Can you start the bath and I'll be there in a few minutes? I just want to change these sheets and that'll take an hour if you help me or you can just lie there on the chaise until I'm done." He smiled sweetly at her and kissed her forehead.

She kissed him softly and left on wobbly legs to start a bath for them.

"Don't be long." She said playfully but she really couldn't stand being away from him for more than a few seconds.

"I'll be there lickety split." She laughed at him because he was really such a nerd sometimes.

****DBW****

He sat wrapped around her in the tub as had become their custom with their vanilla and strawberry scented bubbles filling the air. She leaned back into his embrace and felt like time was standing still to allow them to feel this…bliss at least once in their lives. She had so many questions for him.

"Edward, when did you get these tattoos? They are truly beautiful."

She rubbed her bubble-covered hands over his biceps and he smiled at the memory.

"Em got accepted to Stanford into the Chemical Engineering program. He refused the scholarship because he felt someone that needed it more could use it. Rose was accepted to the Nursing program at UCLA. They had to live in the dorms their freshman year even though they were engaged. They lived five hours apart and were barely seeing each other. Em was a mess. He would call me crying and shit and his grades were in the toilet for the first time in his life. I felt really bad for him. I couldn't even find it in myself to make fun of him so I went out there one weekend just to keep him company."

"Emmett went to Stanford for chemical engineering?"

"Yeah, he's a real egghead. He wanted to do something in environmental remediation…whatever the hell that is. All of his cars are hybrid. His jeep is even a hybrid. He switched out the engine and put in the fuel cells himself. Rose helped him. She likes to tinker with engines, too. The sedans his security drives are hybrid. He was really pissed at me when I bought that Mercedes. He's still trying to get me to trade in my Volvo for a Prius.

He was a straight 'A' student all throughout high school. He would have a fit if he thought he was going to get a 'B'. He would do all of this extra credit and walk around the house mumbling to himself. It was hysterical. He was Valedictorian when he graduated from high school." He looked so proud of his baby brother.

"I would've bet that he went to college on a football scholarship." She was still a little surprised.

"Nah. That didn't come until after he decided to transfer to UCLA to be with Rosalie." He kissed her forehead.

"Don't get me wrong; UCLA is a great school but he left an elite school like Stanford to go there?

"Yep. He needed to be wherever Rose was and he didn't want her to give up her program. She was doing well even though she missed him like crazy too. He went and talked to the coach about being a walk-on. The coach looked at him like he was demented. They tried to recruit him in his junior year but he had turned them down. He offered him a football scholarship and he transferred to their chemical engineering program. They have a very high ranking. I think their engineering school is number fifteen in the country or something like that. I, personally, think he made a very good decision. They also allowed him and Rose to move in to an apartment together if they were married. So, they got married that Christmas break of their first year of college."

She nodded but was still surprised. Emmett didn't carry himself like a brainy person. He was downright goofy most times. This family never ceased to amaze her.

"Why were Emmett and Alice in the same year? He's older than her right?"

"It was how his birthday fell. His birthday is in January. When he finally turned five the school year had already started. He ended up starting school the same time as Alice but she had just turned five when school started. He was eighteen when he graduated and Alice was seventeen. However, he wasn't with us when he started school. He was still living with his parents, the McCartys.

Anyway, he was really sad one weekend and got wasted on Corona and Tequila. I still don't know who got him the liquor.

He was all fucked up when I got there. I tried to sober him up but he wasn't having it. He told me he was going to get a tattoo that meant brotherhood and I couldn't talk him out of it, so that's when we got these tribals. I went with his drunk ass so he wouldn't end up with some shit he really regretted. The knotted bands symbolize brotherhood. I had to come back a couple of times to get it finished. The only difference between our tattoos is that he has a blood red rose on his right bicep."

"When did Emmett get adopted by Esme and Carlisle?"

He squirmed a little in the water, "He was eight. His dad killed his mom." He said that very quietly and buried his face in Bella's neck.

She turned all the way around in the tub and looked at him because she wanted to make sure she heard him right. Edward took a deep breath like he had to resign himself to tell the story.

"If it's too hard for you to talk about, I understand."

"No, you should know what Em's been through. You know everybody else's story." His eyes had turned an unfamiliar shade of brown. She made note that those were his sad eyes.

"Mr. McCarty was one of our little league coaches. He was really hard on us but Em got the brunt of it. He would come to practice all bruised up and shit. He would tell me it was from the games but none of the other kids were bruised up like that and we all played in the same games. I was just a kid. It never occurred to me that his dad was beating on him then. All I knew is that he wasn't telling me the truth."

He had her undivided attention.

"My dad used to ask Em's father if he could spend the night but he always said no. Em was always in the ER and my dad was his pediatrician until Mr. McCarty got mad at him for calling in the Social Worker at the hospital to ask him a few questions. Dad knew better than anybody that he was being abused."

Isabella knew what was coming but she waited to hear it out loud.

"One day Mr. McCarty didn't show up for practice. Em's mom showed up and she had on these dark sunglasses and her lip was a little busted up on the side. She walked up to my mom and dad and asked them to please let Em spend the night. Carlisle said ok with no hesitation and pleaded with her to stay with us too. She shook her head no and hugged Em like she was saying good-bye. The next thing we knew it was all over the news that Mr. McCarty had killed his wife with a shotgun and then he killed himself."

Isabella's eyes widened. She didn't know which story was worse, Edward's or Emmett's.

"He was bipolar and had hallucinations that his wife and Emmett were trying to poison him because they were jealous of his greatness or something. He left a note which doesn't happen a lot in suicides. He had been planning this for a while. I think Mrs. McCarty knew and that's why she got Em out of the house. The first three years we had Emmett he went through some really hard times, obviously."

Isabella gasped,

"Is that why he peed in the bed? You weren't teasing him about that the other day were you?"

"No. Of course not! I would never tease him about anything related to his parents. He didn't pee in the bed because of it. He wouldn't laugh or smile for a couple of years. He had been in therapy for going on three years and we had walkie talkies so that we could talk when he was scared. He had started laughing and joking around again but I think I was the only one that really knew. One night I told him this corny as hell knock-knock joke and he laughed so hard he wet the bed. Dad was so happy he was laughing he just put rubber sheets on his bed and told him to laugh as much as he wanted."

"That's why he reacted so strongly to what happened to Rose."

He nodded and squeezed her tighter.

"Edward."

"Hmm?" He leaned his chin on her shoulder.

"Don't joke with him about the rubber sheets, okay?"

He nodded and said, "Okay. I see your point. I'm sorry. I guess we felt that the rubber sheets were a sign that he was getting better but I can understand why that would upset you."

"That's okay. I just…I never really had siblings until Amanda and I don't know what's okay to joke about. That just seems off limits to me."

"Sometimes I forget how traumatic everything was because it seems like he's always been my brother and we're so far removed from it now. We joke about things like normal brothers would and we forget the circumstances that surrounded it. Like he used to tell people I was abandoned on my birthday because my parents discovered that my body was never going to catch up with my head. People outside of the family that knew my story used to chastise him for being insensitive but I didn't mind. I guess it was our way of coping through humor."

She would probably be angry if she heard Emmett joke like that too. She figured maybe she was being too thin-skinned.

"Why didn't he go with relatives? How did he end up adopted by the Cullens?"

"His mom and dad didn't have any family that was willing to take him in. So, Carlisle and Esme petitioned the courts for custody and they didn't get any objections from either side of his family. His mother's side of the family felt that she abandoned them when she married his father and she didn't want anything to do with them so they didn't want anything to do with her or Emmett. It was really idiotic because Mr. McCarty isolated Em's mother from her family with his abusiveness and they took it out on her. Mr. McCarty's family said they didn't want him because he was one of the reasons their son committed suicide. They actually blamed an eight-year old kid. I guess mental illness ran in the family. Emmett didn't even want to have kids at first because of it. Eventually, he and Rose worked it out through therapy."

Isabella knew what linked them now stronger than blood ever could in some families; it was pain and trauma. They had gone through experiences that could have turned them as cold as marble and altered the paths of their lives in a negative way forever. Carlisle and Esme showed them that there's another way to live; surrounded by love and faith. They needed each other more than most families seemed to. All five of them were each other's life line.

Bella felt an intense sense of protectiveness over the Cullens, as a whole. She hadn't felt anything like that since her sister was born. She had this insane urge to lock Edward away and keep him in the house so nobody could get to him. She started to feel a little panicked until he asked her what was wrong. She shook it off and let his warmth and the soothing smells in the bath calm her down.

****DBW****

They had washed each other's hair and he had rubbed something called loc butter into his scalp. He said he needed to moisturize his scalp and replace the oils that were stripped away from washing it. Afterwards, he grabbed a jar of something called _Mimosa Hair Honey. _It actually did have a golden honey color to it with the consistency of a cream hair dressing. She took it out of his hands and asked him to sit on the ottoman in front of his chaise between her legs. She rubbed the cream over his locks and massaged his scalp until it looked like he was about to fall asleep. She loved the way his hair smelled. The hair dressing smelled like a mixture of cocoa butter, rosemary and lavender and it was surprisingly light; not greasy at all.

She kissed him on his neck until he was alert again, slipped her hand in his and guided him to the bed. After they got under the comforter, he pulled her back against his chest and wrapped himself around her like he usually did. She sighed with contentment. He interrupted her tranquility by saying,

"Baby, I'm going to be getting a call from someone tomorrow…well, I guess I should say today now."

"Who?"

"Jane Volturi…she actually goes by Anderson now. Jane Anderson."

"What? You're getting a call from the woman that shot your father?" She tried to turn around and look at him but his body was holding her in place.

"Don't get excited baby. I've already done enough getting upset for both of us. My dad threatened to kick my ass in my own gym. I calmed down a little after that. She called pop and told him that she had something to tell me about the Night Stalker case."

"What in the hell would she know about the Night Stalker?"

"I don't know, baby. I thought for a second maybe these killings was some elaborate way for her to get back at our family but that doesn't really make much sense at all. I went through a lot of different scenarios in my mind. I've resolved myself to the fact that I won't know until she tells me. I'll deal with the information as she gives it to me."

"Is she giving you this information over the phone?"

"Well, I don't know really. My father indicated that she wanted me to go to Dwight Correctional Facility and see her. I think I really want to go, as odd as that sounds. I want to see her."

Bella swallowed hard and her heart rate picked up. She didn't want Edward anywhere near the woman that shot and killed his father for many reasons. He was a grown man that could do what he wanted but that didn't stop her from wanting to tell him he couldn't go. However, she would never make that demand but she needed to understand.

"Why? Why do you want to see her?"

He buried his face in her neck.

"I'm just…curious I guess. I never saw her. Mom and dad wouldn't let me watch the news when the trial was going on and I couldn't go to the trial. When I got older I looked at news clippings and video archive, but I want to see her face to face."

"I still don't understand, Edward."

He shook his head, "I don't either. I think I just want to face a demon in my life and not run away or break down. I want to stand strong and face her."

Bella nodded finally. She could understand wanting to face your demons. However, she still didn't want him going there alone.

"Can I go?"

"Absolutely not!" His tone was resolute and non-yielding.

"Why not?" She was angry that he was dictating to her again what she was going to do.

"It would be too much, Isabella. I wouldn't be able to take you being near her. I need to do this knowing that you're safe."

She huffed, "So you know I'm safe but I get to sit around here like 'the little woman' and hope you get home safely."

He released her from his snuggle hold and she turned around worried that he was angry with her. When she faced him she didn't see anger. She saw worry and that made her immediately repentant.

"Don't let go of me, please. I'm sorry I'm a little snippy right now. I don't think you understand that I worry about you as much as you worry about me…maybe more at times."

"Isabella, don't take this the wrong way please but if I even get an inkling that you are going anywhere near where Jane Volturi is, I will disable every vehicle you own and hire somebody to blow up your plane."

She gasped at him and crossed her arms,

"Oooh! How could I take that the wrong way?" She was really mad at him this time.

"Isabella, if you want me to sleep somewhere else I will but you are NOT going with me…that's final."

She got up in a huff and grabbed a pillow,

"You don't have to worry about sleeping somewhere else. I'll leave. I'm going to sleep in Amanda's room, tyrant." She stormed out of the room, walked into Amanda's room and slammed the door.

****DBW****

She couldn't sleep without him…dammit! She was tossing and turning for thirty minutes until she heard a light knock on the door. She closed her eyes tightly to stop the tears from flowing because she knew she was acting about Amanda's age. At least she was in the right room for it.

She heard the doorknob twist and the door open. Finally, she felt the bed dip where Edward sat down. He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed the back of her head. Then he walked around the bed and scooped her into his arms like she was Amanda-sized. She didn't protest because she really didn't want to be away from him. He walked them back into his bedroom and laid her down gently on the bed and pulled the comforter over her.

"I can't sleep without you, Isabella. Please don't leave again. I'll stay on my side." He slid in bed next to her but he didn't touch her. After a few minutes she broke the silence,

"I'm sorry for calling you a tyrant."

She heard a sigh of relief coming from him, "I'm sorry for having to act like one."

"Can I come with you?"

"No."

She huffed but she knew he wasn't changing his mind so what was the point in arguing about it.

"Baby?"

He sounded like a little lost boy and that really hurt her heart.

"Yeah?"

"You have a little bit of a temper too, huh?" He asked softly like he was afraid to make her angry again.

She couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Yeah, I guess I do."

She scooted closer to him and he tentatively wrapped his arm around her waist. When she didn't protest, he pulled her even closer and wrapped her up in his embrace again and slid his leg between hers. He laid his head on her neck and gave her several sweet kisses.

"I love you, Isabella."

"I love you too…tyrant."

He laughed and her body shook with his and they fell asleep for a while.

****DBW****

When she woke up she felt like she was on fire inside. They weren't under the comforter anymore and Edward has scooted down her body and was slowly licking her slit from top to bottom. He slid his hands under her bottom and then he pushed his tongue into her pussy suddenly. She moaned out his name and buried her hands in his hair.

He placed her right leg over his shoulder to have better access. She was grinding against his face and he was moaning against her which sent the most delicious sensations through her body. He replaced his tongue with two fingers and sensuously and slow sucked on her lips down there. He moved up to her little nub of pleasure and softly sucked it into his mouth and slowly moved the tip of his tongue over it again and again.

She was moaning loudly and chanting his name,

"Edward, please don't stop, baby."

He moaned and she heard his muffled reply,

"I don't think I can stop puddin'."

He turned his wrist and softly rubbed her spot and she came violently against his fingers. He kept licking and sucking her and grunting and mumbling about her being his. He took her body with him as he got on his knees never breaking his kisses down there. She automatically draped her legs over his shoulders but he pulled down his sleep pants and lowered her until she was right over his cock. He rubbed her over him coating him in her juices and entered her slowly. She yelled out,

"Goddamn, you fill me up and it feels so fucking good." He grunted his agreement and said,

"We're a perfect fit. I think God made you for me." She nodded her agreement enthusiastically.

He took both of her legs off his shoulder and laid them on the bed. He placed her right leg over her left in front of him so that one cheek of her bottom was turned towards him. He thrusts into her and rubbed his hand over her cheek. He lightly slapped her bottom every time he entered her. This made her feel euphoric.

"Baby, I need it like this right now. We can make love later. Okay?" He grunted out lowly.

"I need you to stop talking and fuck me." His eyes widened, he growled and slammed into her so hard the headboard hit the wall.

"Shiit! Right there. Keep it just like that!" Bella screamed out and he happily complied.

He slammed into her until they both were hoarse from screaming and moaning. He turned her completely around and she got on all fours and held on to the head board. He thrust into her and leaned over grabbing her breasts in his hands. He would grind into her ass every time their bodies met. She loved the way he moved his hips against her. He took one hand and wrapped it up in her hair and pulled on it like it was his own personal rein.

"You have to let me know if I'm hurting you baby." He slammed into her again and she yelled out,

"Hold on to my hair tighter! Don't be afraid. I told you I'm not gonna break."

She met him thrust for thrust. All the anger and frustration from their conversation that morning was easing away and she felt that delectable pressure building in her stomach.

"Edwwwarrrd, I'm gonna come!"

"Shit! Let go baby. Just let go." He reached around and lightly pinched her clitoris and she screamed out her pleasure as her walls clamped down on him but he kept going through her orgasm and kept pounding into her.

"I-I fucking worship the fucking ground you walk on, baby!" He started to thrust erratically and finally moaned out his own release.

When she collapsed onto the bed he fell on top of her but immediately eased to the side so he wouldn't hurt her. They were both breathing heavily and sweaty. He still had his hand wrapped in her hair.

Bella started laughing and he asked her what was funny,

"I'm so glad Amanda's with your aunt right now."

He started laughing too.

"Shit! We really cannot be as loud as we are when she's here." He finally released her hair and she turned her head and smiled at him slowly.

"I think I can be quiet."

He smiled back at her and reached out and moved her sweaty hair off her face.

"I'll believe that shit when I hear it or don't hear it. You know what I mean."

She laughed and blushed a little. He ran his finger over her cheek and pulled her close to him.

"Are you still mad at me?"

"Yes."

He frowned a little but said,

"I'm not changing my mind."

She nodded,

"I know. What if I asked you not to go?" Surely he would be able to see how unfair he was being now.

He looked deeply into her eyes and said, "You wouldn't do that. You want to stop this killer as much as I do; maybe even more on some levels. She may have information I may need to stop this. I need to go through with this."

"Why don't you send Jasper? He's the lead on this now."

"I may ask Jasper to go with me, but she asked for me. Isabella, please trust my instincts here."

She huffed in exasperation. It was only 5:30 a.m. and they had a little time before they had to get up.

He pulled the sheets over them and started to hum the lullaby he was writing.

"When do you think it'll be done?" He gave her a questioning look.

"The song you're humming. You were still working on it when you played it last." He nodded with understanding.

"It's done. All I have to do now is record it. I think I want to give it to Amanda as a birthday present. I think she'll like it. What do you think?"

Bella beamed at him excitedly.

"I think she'll love it. That's a really good present, sweetie. You have such a sweet heart." She placed her hand over his heart and he grabbed it and kissed her palm.

"Edward?"

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you for not treating me like a piece of glass. I needed that as much as you did."

He smiled and pulled her even closer to him but he didn't say anything.

"You wouldn't really disable my cars and have someone blow up my plane would you if I tried to go with you?"

He gave her a look of defiant certainty.

"Well, I probably wouldn't have anything done to the plane. People could get hurt and property, besides your plane, could get damaged. The cars I would definitely disable personally or have someone else do it."

Knowing that he was completely serious, had thought this through and would go through such extreme lengths to stop her should have scared her. Oddly, the things about him that should scare her only drew her closer to him emotionally. She thought to herself that she must have some kind of masochistic streak or mental illness to stay with him after what he threatened. However, she was okay with that if it meant being by his side forever so she changed the subject determining internally to broach the topic later from a new angle. Besides, she could always use a car he didn't know about.

"Isabella, unless you've registered cars in someone else's name, I know where all of your cars are…and Angela's. I see that brain working in your pretty head. Just trust me this once, please. I'll make sure I'm safe. You don't have to worry about me."

She cursed internally. She forgot he had access to national databases. She knew it was time for a subject change before they started arguing again. After all, she could always take the Greyhound bus, jump on the Metra train to Dwight or have Iris drive her. Maybe she could even hire a driver for the day.

"Edward, did Em's family try to get in touch with him when he was signed with the Bears?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, his father's brother wanted money and threatened to 'expose' that he was the son of the man that killed his wife. He beat them to the punch and revealed it himself." He sounded angry, disgusted at Emmett's family's behavior and proud of his brother simultaneously.

"See, if I followed sports, I would've already known his story."

"I'm glad I was the one to tell you about Em, baby. It feels good sharing my life and my family with you. You tell me how you really feel and I love that about you."

"You make me feel like I can say anything to you. I love that about you."

"Baby, I know this is off topic but have you asked my grandmother about selling your cheesecake at the diner? That is the best fucking cheesecake I've ever tasted."

She laughed, "You may be a little biased."

"Oh, I'm a lot biased but despite that I think my judgment is good on this."

"I may do that." She made it just for him and his family really but she didn't mind sharing it with Chicago."

They lay there and talked until it was time to get ready for their day. Edward jumped up and said,

"Okay, seductress, you can use the shower first while I straighten up the bed because I'm pooped and I can't handle a shower session with you right now. Besides, I can't forget my drawers again. That's just nasty."

She laughed so loudly at him that she snorted and covered her mouth from embarrassment. He just chuckled at her.

"You are so fucking adorable sometimes I can't stand it." He kissed her nose and swatted her bottom. She hopped out of bed strangely energized after all of their activity. She headed towards the shower feeling sad but resigned to get ready for the day thinking that she wished they could stay like this forever but real life always rears its ugly head.

It's time to go try to catch a serial killer.

"Isabella."

"Huh?"

"I know about the Greyhound and Metra routes to Dwight, too. I can have both stopped and have you escorted off if you decide to try that. Don't forget that you're in protective custody. Don't make me involve the Sheriff and Metra police in this. Also, please don't put Iris, Jacob or Leah in an awkward position by asking them to help you. Oh, and if you rent a car, I'll know about that, too. I'm begging you to please let me have this one thing. I'll tell you everything that happens when I go see her and I'll make sure I'm extra cautious."

She thought to herself, _"One thing my ass. It starts with this. Then he'll be picking out my outfits for me and cutting up my food like he does for Amanda. How in the hell would he know if I rented a car? Maybe I could have Embry do it for me._

"Isabella, your agent's name is Embry Call and he lives in Rancho Cucamonga, California. By the way, Alice invited him to Amanda's birthday party; I hope you don't mind. Please, don't involve him in this either. Oh, Ben and Angela want to fly in for Amanda's party. Can you talk to them about maybe using your plane so they can land in Bolingbrook Thursday night and visit with Iris and Carmen? That is still fucking weird that you have a plane." She watched him with her mouth agape because he hadn't even looked up and was still putting new sheets on the bed.

She resumed her walk to the shower as she scowled because she had to figure out a way to stop him from reading her mind. She looked forward to the day when they knew each other so well they could finish each other's sentences but this was fucking ridiculous. She resigned to herself that she was going to let this battle go but insist he go with Jasper and she wasn't going to budge on that one. She would win the war and make sure he was shielded from danger.

****DBW****

_**A/N: This is Tony! Toni! Tone!'s "Slow Wine." As you can probably already tell, I'm an old lady. I love this song and I almost forgot about it. It came up on a Genius playlist on my iTunes so I incorporated it into my story. Isabella would have just been nine years old when it came out so it would have much more meaning for her now that it would then. ;-) I was twenty when it came out. I can't believe it's been that long. Time flies. **_

_**Here's the video**_: .com/watch?v=Da8k_cfhios

_**This is an example of Chicago-style Steppin': **_

.com/watch?v=lDk0vjSGQ14&feature=fvst

_**This was always Emmett's story in my head. I promise I didn't make it up just to traumatize you. His story connects him deeply to Rose. I didn't think I could incorporate a bear attack into this story…lol. So this was the story that materialized in my brain for him.**_

_**P.S. As God as my witness, I did not realize that Kellan Lutz originally went to school for chemical engineering…lol. I was just trying to think of a field that sounded like something a really smart person would pursue. It is truly a coincidence but I think there's serendipity there. **_

_**For those that are put off by lemons, I apologize. They are in a very passionate stage of their relationship and I thought it was unrealistic for them to suddenly stop being together in that way. However, the action will pick up after this chapter so there won't be lemons for a couple of chapters. **_

_**Also, I want to clarify that neither I am nor is this story in any way affiliated with the Carol's Daughter's product line. I personally use it and love it but I make no profit off of this story and this is not being used to promote it or market it in any way.**_

_**Please, please, please check out Thaigher Lillie's fanfic page:**_

_** (dot) net/u/2265425/Thaigher_Lillie**_

_**Thaigher writes dark fics that draw you into a completely different world and keep you very captivated. **_


	22. Chapter 22

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**A/N: I want to thank Humble4 for helping me write this chapter and Aniseed for doing double-duty with my rewrites. **_

Chapter 22 – Jane's Call

Considering all of the resources Isabella had at her disposal made Edward's head spin. If he would've known it was going to turn into an argument, he wouldn't have ever mentioned Jane Volturi's call. He had never been with a woman that could basically do anything she wanted financially and that scared him because he didn't really think he was as smart as she was. He had to stay on his toes to try to figure out what schemes her mind was concocting in regards to going with him to Dwight.

The only thing that eased his worries and stopped his brain from smoking was that her new angle seemed to be to convince him to go with Jasper for his visit with Jane, which he didn't mind doing at all. On the other hand, if she knew he had no problem letting Jasper go with him but didn't want her to go, that would start a whole new argument. Nights without his Isabella were not an option. He had to play his cards close to the vest.

The morning had gone without any real problems. Neither _Raven_ nor the _Night Stalker_r had showed up. Jasper came downstairs in a suit for his national press conference with Captain Morris. Clearly, Alice picked out the ensemble. The first thing that clued him in was the absence of his signature cowboy boots. He had on a pair of black Italian leather ankle boots with a square toe and flat heel.

He wore a navy blue Brooks Brothers suit with a blue shirt that matched his eye color exactly and the tie matched his suit color. Quite a few of the women in the diner turned completely around and gawked at him. Alice was not happy, to say the least, and the scowl on her face was priceless. His hair was cut short in an attempt to look unintentionally stylish with sculptured disarray in the front where the hair was slightly longer. This made him look more like a print ad model than the cowboy hat wearing partner he was accustomed to. Edward snickered a little at him because he could tell they shared the same attitude about suits and square-toed footwear. He kept reaching up to push the ghost of his formerly long hair behind his ears and scowling in frustration that it wasn't there. Edward could relate to that, however, he had to give it to Alice; Jasper looked all spiffed up and ready for TV. Isabella even gave him an approving nod and the thumbs up. He was the classic American pretty boy with one minor exception…that bite-shaped scar on his chin.

Every time Edward asked him about it he came up with a new story,

"_Well, one day I was lost in the Mojave Desert and a mountain lion approached me. It was either me or him; a fight for survival. I won but he left me this souvenir." _Edward rolled his eyes at this lie.

This tall tale was the real doozy,

"_Well, I was a really awkward kid. I wore coke-bottle glasses and I had braces. I hit puberty around the same time I started wearing contacts and my teeth were straight. Well, my sex appeal was so overwhelming that all of the girls attacked me and one bit my chin trying to get a piece of the Jazz man." _

After his stomach began to ache from laughing so hard, which Jasper pretended to be offended by, he determined that his friend would tell him the truth when he felt ready to.

One unexpected twist for the day was Victoria Reynolds showing up at the diner at 3 p.m. when they clearly told her to meet them at the police station. They were both scowling deeply when she showed up; so much so that she put both hands up in defense and asked what was wrong. Jasper spoke up angrily,

"_Ms. Reynolds, we asked you to meet us at the station at 3:30 p.m. I mean, this is a free country and you can come to the diner any time you want but I don't understand what was unclear about our arrangements yesterday." _

She begged forgiveness and said that for some reason she didn't remember it that way and that she had a horrible headache. She asked us if she could sit down and Isabella gave her some aspirin because, of course, she felt sorry for her. Jasper reluctantly introduced them. Edward wished for once that Isabella would be rude and not her normal warm and inviting self but she was nice to her and told her she really liked her hair. Victoria thanked her bashfully and told her she wished her hair was as thick and shiny as hers. As they finished up the girly interaction and Isabella walked away, they all got down to the business of figuring out the logistics of tracking the _Night Stalker_.

She didn't think they could track him via phone. However, after Jasper told her what Siobhan and Liam told him about nobody knowing the name _Raven_ in the BDSM community but knowing of the collars with two spikes on the inside, she felt they had a chance of tracking him through his supplier. Those collars were custom made. Some dominants used them for 'training.' However, it was a generally frowned upon way of treating a subordinate in their community. Still there were people who lived outside of the norms of that community and there were suppliers for those people as well.

Jasper explained that when a subordinate doesn't obey his or her dominant the collar is tightened around the neck with a twisting pull or a sharp yank. The two spikes dig into the neck to make it feel like the person is being strangled. The few legitimate doms/dommes that use this method do it sharply and quickly and with their subordinate's permission. Generally, the sub likes the feeling of being strangled and there's no bruising or mark left behind in most cases, unless they bruise easily. This is really dangerous and that is why it's frowned upon, especially since those women had been killed via asphyxiation in the news a few years back in Texas. Yet, if it's tightened enough to leave a mark, it's torturous. Now Jasper and Edward knew for sure that these victims were being tortured physically before they were murdered.

Victoria felt that the list of shops that make collars custom in Chicago, particularly this type of training collar, was probably small. If he was ordering them via the internet, the search would be larger but it would be a way to get Raven's address, if not the Night Stalkers. Edward still wasn't convinced they weren't one in the same. On the other hand, her ideas were solid and it made him feel better about having her on the team.

He really took the time to examine this woman, Victoria, who seemed to be still wincing slightly in pain from the headache she said she had. Everything about her screamed of danger to him. She had eyebrows that were drawn in red. It didn't look bad but he hated it when women completely cut off their eyebrows to draw on some more. She wore relatively heavy makeup but she didn't look like she really needed it unless she was trying to cover up the freckles that ginger-haired people usually had.

Nevertheless, she didn't look like a natural red-head. It looked like she dyed it. The only other people he knew personally that dyed their hair red were Esme and Tanya. Esme did it to cover up the grays in her naturally red hair and Tanya did it to stand out. It was startling to see her bright red curly hair against her brown skin. However, the reason why it was so startling was because it looking unnatural; much like Victoria's. He knew plenty of brown people with naturally red hair and it was really quite attractive. His hair had red in it but it was mostly brown. Esme called it old penny-red.

Edward knew that red was supposed to be the color of passion and royalty. On the other hand, it was also the color of danger in plant and animal life. It was the color of blood in humans. When outside of the body the color alerted that there would be troubling consequences without some form of medical attention…danger. Danger is the word that kept popping into his head when he looked at her. However, she didn't actually look very dangerous hunched over the table holding her head with one hand and nursing her water glass with the other. He didn't really understand why he got such bad vibes from her.

She left promising to make note that they were going to meet again the next Monday, at the police station at 3:30 p.m. She and her people would be doing a search on her end for the supplier on a national level. Jasper and Edward were going to do the Chicago search. They all promised that if they found out anything before Monday that everyone would be alerted right away.

****DBW****

As Edward and Jazz walked up to his loft, Jasper was really quiet. Edward didn't know if he was still angry about Victoria showing up or if something happened at the press conference. He just wasn't getting the calm vibe from him that he had grown accustomed to.

"What's up, Jazz? How did the press conference go?"

"It went fine. We've had a bunch of crazy calls since then but it went fine."

"I told you your turn was coming." He laughed but Jasper didn't.

Edward was starting to get concerned. They walked into the loft and sat down on the couch. Isabella was upstairs and he was pretty sure she was taking a shower. His body wanted to join her but his mind was still worried about Jasper.

"So, why do you look like somebody ran over your dog?"

"It's nothing really. What did Angela say about the ring?"

"Oh man! She loved it. She told me in her email in all caps to not change a thing or she'd hunt me down and hurt me."

Jasper breathed out heavily and closed his eyes.

"Jazz, what's going on man?"

"I got a call from my ex this morning."

"Your ex? Were you married before, Jazz?" It occurred to him how little he really knew about his sister's boyfriend and his own partner.

"NO! Thank God! I dodged that bullet and every other cliché phrase you can use for not getting mixed up with that woman on a permanent basis."

"So what happened when she called?"

"She said she saw the press conference and she's glad she knows where I live now. As soon as this position in Chicago opened up I jumped at the opportunity and never looked back."

"What the hell happened to you in Dallas, Jazz?"

"Maria, that's my ex's name, and I were partners when we were on patrol. She was really good at some aspects of the job. Dealing with domestic disputes where a woman was the victim and situations where a victim of a crime just wanted to speak to someone who looked like them and spoke their language. I can speak Spanish fluently but I was just a pick-up truck driving, gun toting, white boy with unlimited power to a lot of the people we interacted with. They didn't want to interact with me and I couldn't get them to trust me no matter how fluent I was. When she was there we could get the whole story on a situation."

Edward could relate to Maria's and Jasper's experiences. There were times when he was able to speak to people his partners couldn't get to cooperate and get into places where his colleagues would be very conspicuous. Sometimes that was a good thing and sometimes it put him at a disadvantage. On the other hand, there were times where no matter how innocuous he tried to be or how well he comported himself he was not welcome and was mistrusted in some circles.

"The parts where she was lacking skills had to do with paperwork, deductive reasoning and problem-solving. That's where my strengths were. I was also a trainer in self-defense and striking moves. However, she was also the daughter of a powerful state senator, Pedro Hernandez. She had political connections I didn't have."

"So, it sounds like you balanced each other out."

"At first we did but then things got bad because we took the detectives examination at the same time. I knew I did better than her but she was promoted over me. Hell, mostly everyone that took the test with her did better than she did."

"Do you think it was because of Affirmative Action or something?"

"No. It wasn't Affirmative Action it was her father. If anybody needed Affirmative Action it was me. I was one of the few white officers where I worked. Everybody else was a latino, latina or black. Her father was real tight with the mayor he used his connections to get her promoted?"

."How did you find this out?"

"I saw them together a lot right before she was promoted because I was around the family all of the time. They were real buddy buddy around that time. Anyway, I was less mad as I was concerned about her because she already had to work her ass off to get basic respect as a woman and then she was sling-shot over the rest of her class because of her political connections and everybody knew it.

She was getting razzed left and right. She would call for back-up and if I wasn't there, nobody would show up. She ended up hospitalized because she had to chase this guy and when he was saw she was alone he turned around and beat the shit out of her."

"Damn! That's some Serpico type shit. How did she handle it?"

"Not well. She started to take it out on me. I wanted to be there for her but she would go into these rages and start throwing shit at me and she became pretty abusive all around. I was trying to be understanding at first but eventually I told her she needed some counseling because she probably was seeing her attacker in me and I wasn't going to be her punching bag, physically or emotionally."

Edward thought about all of the times he went into rages and all of the people that told him he needed to talk to somebody. He wondered if they felt abused by him.

"Did she get some help?"

"She did and everything was going great for a couple of months. She was on desk duty until she fully recuperated and even some of the razzing died down. Then, I was promoted to detective and transferred to sex crimes with her. She was pissed and to this day I don't know why. We were partnered up when she came off of desk duty and, per usual, she was really good at dealing with the victims but she was shit at the rest of the job. I took up her slack but the thing that really finally pissed me off is that she started taking credit for my work."

"What? How could she do that? Didn't you have to sign off on your own paperwork?"

"Yeah, but she started talking shit to her dad and anyone else who would listen about how I was signing off on her paperwork and turning it in."

"But nobody would believe that because she had never done the type of work that you did, right?"

"You would think so, but she had enough connections politically that I started getting called in and questioned about my work. I went off on her finally because she was ruining my reputation and I take my reputation very seriously."

Edward nodded because he was very aware of how Jasper tried to guard his good name.

"She told me not to be stupid because she was on her way up and she was taking me with her."

"I told her I didn't want to go "up" with her without paying my dues and I wanted out. I told her I wanted to spend my life with someone with character. She was not exhibiting any."

"She told me I could leave then. I moved out of our apartment, found a place and asked to be assigned to a new partner. Thankfully, my captain obliged me and I ended up working with one of the best detectives there, Cedric Jenkins. He was genius level smart and he taught me so much about crime scenes. He had been on the job for years and he knew his shit. I was so happy. We were starting to get noticed for the cases we were solving and the prosecutor's office loved us because they were getting more convictions on the cases we worked than they had been getting in a while. Then Maria was promoted to my superior and all hell broke loose. She broke me away from my partner and paired me up with a rookie that I was practically training. She was calling me out during roll call and saying embarrassing personal shit about me. Eventually, I went to HR and filed a sexual harassment complaint against her with plenty of evidence. Instead of them disciplining her or demoting her, she was promoted to captain and moved to another division."

"She was promoted again after a sexual harassment complaint was filed against her."

"Yep." He exaggerated the pronunciation of the 'p' with obvious ire in his voice.

"Shit, Whitlock. I thought Chicago was bad. That's fucked up."

"Tell me about it. I started applying to other cities after I found out she was promoted again. I was sick of that shit in Dallas. I got called back for other cities in Texas but her dad was a senator for the state and he was bad-mouthing me all over. So, I would get calls, do a good interview and the job would mysteriously fall through. So, I started applying out of state and I tried Chicago first. They called me right away, I interviewed and they liked me and asked when I could move. I packed what I needed, sold everything else and high-tailed it out of Dallas like my ass was on fire."

"Well, I'm glad you're here man. I was impressed with you from day one and so glad we were partnered up. So, why did Maria's call have you all pissed off?"

"She was talking trash to Alice who took the phone away from me because she saw I was getting pissed."

"What?"

"Yeah, she was calling Alice sloppy seconds and calling me a limp-dick punk that couldn't take the heat of being with a powerful woman and all that bullshit. She told her she was coming to Chicago to get 'her man.' Alice threatened to kick her ass all the way back to Dallas if she came within one hundred miles of either one of us. When she hung up we got into an argument because I told her she didn't have to fight my battles for me and she called me a hypocrite because I've been coddling her and protecting her since we met. We had a big fight."

Edward looked confused,

"But you two looked like you were getting along fine this morning."

"Yeah, that's because we both promised to talk about my past and Maria when we were calmer."

"Don't worry about it man. Your ex is probably just talking shit and like Alice said, she would be crazy to bring her ass up here and fuck with you."

"Well Cullen, I never said she wasn't crazy and I don't want to have to hurt that woman or have to break up a fight between her and Alice. I just don't know what to do. I don't want to put a strain on my relationship with Alice. Do you know what she said to me the first day we met at her birthday party?"

Edward shook his head no,

"After you introduced me to everyone Alice walked up to me and asked me what took me so long to get there."

Edward chuckled, "That's normal for Alice."

"She said she had dreamed about me and had been waiting for me for three years and didn't know if I'd show up in New York or Chicago. The crazy thing is that I applied to a New York precinct too but Chicago called first."

It seemed like Fate was manipulating Jasper's life as much as Edward's. He slapped him on the back,

"Well, don't worry about it man. We'll all deal with it as it comes. Believe it or not, we have some political connections up here too. Maybe we can have somebody call and put a little fear in her."

Jasper laughed, "You don't have to do that, Edward. I don't want Alice to think I'm not capable of handling my own problems. That's not a good way to go into a marriage."

Edward smiled and asked,

"A marriage? Did you ask Mae Mae to marry you, Jazz?"

Jasper's face turned red, "Not yet but I've been looking at rings myself, Edward. I wish I had an heirloom to pass down but my mother doesn't believe in shit like that. Plus, I want to talk to your parents first and see what they think of adding me to the clan."

"Jazz, in case you didn't realize, you're already a part of the clan, on the Masen side too. You want to do things the old-fashioned way, huh?"

"Look who's talking."

Edward smiled because he was pretty old-fashioned in his thinking when it comes to things like asking a woman to marry you; except for the no sex before marriage thing. He and his Isabella waved good-bye to that tradition a few days ago.

"Well, brother, I'm sure both of my parents will give you their blessing. Tell me more about your mom. You never talk about your parents."

"I guess I don't. I love them to death but we have different opinions on a lot of things. You should've witnessed the to-do when I said I was taking Karate lessons whether they wanted me to or not. I was getting my ass kicked on a daily basis for being scrawny. My parents wanted me to be non-violent but I thought that would be pretty pointless if I was dead or hospitalized.

I was cutting grass and delivering papers to pay for my own lessons until they realized I was really determined and started helping me. When I volunteered to go into the Navy they had a shit fit. My parents are civil rights attorneys in Amarillo. They work a lot with the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Department of Justice.

They hated the idea of me getting involved in a war or being 'the oppressor.' I felt like I had been given so much by this country and that it stands for such high ideals, although we don't always live by them that I wanted to serve and fight for it."

"Well, my family feels the same way on the Masen side, man. I think I might be the only male in five generations that didn't go into some branch of the military. I felt like my family had given enough. I decided to go straight to college."

Jasper laughed, "See my parents would love you. Me…not so much. They thought I must've been going through a rebellious phase. They wanted me to go to law school too. When I finished up my time with the Navy and went to college for History they almost had a meltdown again."

"Jazz, I'm sure your parents love you, man. They just don't agree with your choices. They must not have been too happy about you becoming a cop either. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

He laughed loudly and slapped his knee, "Nope. All of their crazy is directed at me. I'm an only child. They accused me of being 'The Man." They said they thought I was going to invest my time in giving back to the community and being a teacher and teaching history from a broader perspective. I told them I was giving back to the community by protecting its citizens. They told me I had to move out."

"Damn, Jazz. They put you out and you had a college education and a good job? Your parents are definitely unique. Most parents would be proud of your choices."

"Yeah well, I guess if they were military people and patriotic, I would've been a civil rights attorney." He chuckled. "I did want to carve my own path but I almost didn't get hired as a cop because of my parents. They were on an F.B.I. watch list because of some protest they were involved in but the city saw my service record and that I had a Medal of Honor and they couldn't find it in their conscience to stop me from being a police officer because of my wacky ass parents."

"You have a Congressional Medal of Honor, Whitlock?"

"Yeah, it was for an operation in the Persian Gulf. I don't want to get into it but we survived with no casualties and very few injuries."

"The Persian Gulf War was in '91, Jazz. How old are you?"

Jasper winced, "I'm thirty-eight."

Edward was pretty surprised. He didn't realize Jasper was ten years older than Alice. He was six years older than Isabella and felt like he was robbing the cradle at times. However, he didn't think that was a reason to give Jasper a hard time. It was his sister's choice and for his part he was pretty sure that she had made a good one.

"Do you have any kids, Jazz?"

"Nope. No kids without marriage. That's another thing my parents laugh at me about. They got married when I was twelve because of an insurance thing. My mom was sick with breast cancer and she needed more coverage than she was getting on her own. She survived of course, thank goodness, but they didn't even live together until that time. My dad lived in a house next door to my mom. My mom's last name is Henderson. For a long time my name was hyphenated. I shortened it to Whitlock, my dad's last name, when I turned eighteen."

"Wow. Your parents are truly something special. They've been together for a long time and they have high ideals in a lot of ways. No wonder you're such an unusually good person."

"Thanks, man. Yeah, they certainly are different and they're committed to each other. As far as I know, they've been completely faithful to each other all of these years."

Edward patted him on the back, "Don't worry about Maria, old man. Everything will be okay. We're your family too. We got your back, dawg."

"I hope you're right and I got your 'old man' swinging. Well, I better get going. I have some paperwork to wrap up before Carmen brings Amanda home. Alice wants to go out for a nice dinner while I'm still in this friggin' ensemble. Duty calls."

Edward laughed at him, "Jazz, whose idea was the haircut? I mean it doesn't look bad but it's not you, dawg."

"Don't even start, Cullen. You know whose idea the haircut was. You're just lucky Bella doesn't want to groom you like a damn poodle."

Edward laughed loudly.

"Don't be mad at her, man. It's really her way of showing she loves you."

Jasper smiled big and said,

"I know. That's why I put up with it."

They said their good-byes and Edward turned around to a smiling Isabella.

"So, I couldn't help but overhear…Jasper wants to marry Alice, huh?"

"Yep. He's stuck with us now."

Her grin widened and he couldn't help but smile back,

"That's excellent, Edward! They make a good couple."

Edward bent down and kissed her softly.

"I think so, too."

****DBW****

Edward had to make one phone call before he did anything else.

"_Edward, what do you want."_

"Well, hello to you too, Rose."

"_Yeah, yeah. What's up, trouble-maker?"_

"Doesn't the Hale side of your family have big-time connections in Dallas?"

"_Yep. Why"_

"There's a woman named Maria Hernandez that Jasper used to date who got into a little altercation with Mae Mae today. She's the daughter of Pedro Hernandez, a state senator down there. Apparently, Ms. Hernandez wants him back and the harassment has begun. She knows he's in Chicago now because of the press conference."

"_What? She got into it with our Alice about Jasper?"_

"Yeah, you can just imagine how that one turned out."

"_Alice probably threatened to kick her ass all the way back to Dallas."_

Edward chuckled, "You know her so well. Anyway, don't the Hales have a big tobacco lobby in Texas?"

"_Of course we do and I know Senator Hernandez. In fact, I spoke to him the other day when he called my mother about coming to visit early next year. The threat of losing Hale money because of his spoiled ass daughter would be a real big motivator to rein her crazy ass in."_

"Can you talk to your mom about what's happening and see what she can do?"

"_Absolutely ! Nobody fucks with my family! I can also take a little trip to Dallas and put a good old-fashioned ass-whooping on her Chicago-style."_

Edward laughed pretty hard, "Uhhh…Rose, she's a police captain and a little on the crazy side. I don't think that's a very good idea."

"_Shit! Oh well, I guess I just have to work my mojo on the political side. I'll get to work on that today. Tell Jasper not to worry."_

"Thanks Rose. Tell Emmett and Emie I said hello and that I love them. I guess I love you too."

"_Whatever. Listen, I'll see you on Friday. Oh, if you go out and buy Amanda a present, spring the extra few bucks and get somebody else to wrap it for you. You know you suck at wrapping presents. Why even try?"_

He chuckled at her, "It's always a thrill talking to you, Rose. Bye nag."

"_Bye, trouble-maker and tell Bella and Amanda I said hello."_

As soon as he hung up with Rose the cell phone rang. A toll-free service was calling and asking if he would accept a call from Dwight Correctional Facility. Edward had given his father the information to give to her earlier in the day for when Jane called. He accepted the call and they asked for a credit card number from him and told him the call was twenty-five cents a minute. The voice he heard on the other end startled him. It wasn't the voice of a growling monster that could inflict life-altering pain. There was no devilish or sinister lilt to it. In fact, the voice sounded very soft almost child-like and rather nervous.

****DBW****

"Hello. This is Jane…uhhh…Anderson…formerly Vol-t-t-uri. Is this Edward, I mean, Detective Mas…Cullen." He heard very soft curses and then several apologies to God on the other end.

Edward didn't answer right away. He walked into his office and closed the door giving himself the privacy he needed. Isabella had already walked away shaking her head at him and laughing while he was talking to Rose and started working and humming in the kitchen.

"Yes, this is Detective Edward Cullen. I was expecting your call. You told my father you knew something about the _Night Stalker_ case." Normally, he would exchange pleasantries, even with a stranger, but he didn't think speaking to Jane was an occasion for pleasantries.

He heard a pause and then she said,

"Wow. From what I saw on television you look like your mother but you sound almost exactly like your father. The sound was muted when I saw you." She gasped loudly realizing she most likely said the wrong thing.

Edward scowled internally thinking of a way to tell her not to ever let comments about his parents cross her lips again and still get his information but she interrupted his internal rant,

"I am so very very sorry. I'm such an idiot. I shouldn't have said a thing about your parents. It's just your voice…it took me by surprise. I deeply apologize."

He was so thrown emotionally. He was not expecting an apologetic sweet-sounding woman on the phone. The way he decided to proceed was the only way he knew to keep his emotions in check,

"Well Ms. Anderson, I'm being charged by the minute here so is there something in particular you wanted to say?"

"Oh, of course you are. I'll make this brief. If you call the prison and talk to the Classification Officer, you can tell her who you are and that you need to see me right away. It's a matter of life and death. Explain that I have information about the serial killings that I can't give via phone. If you don't do that you'll have to wait at least a month to be put on my visitors list, after I send you an application." She spoke this rapid fire as though she were afraid Edward would hang up or she was being considerate of his time and money which he couldn't wrap his mind around at the moment.

"Why is it that you can't give me this information over the phone?"

"I have documents that you'll need to have and information that I don't want to discuss while I'm on the payphone here and others can hear me. My name has changed but Marcus and Caius are still alive. I'm still under the Volturi's watchful eye. If you come visit me, we'll be segregated in a cage away from the general population. I'm sorry to subject you to this…animalistic existence but I have no choice. This is the safest way to do things."

Edward was getting angrier by the second because she sounded so…nice. He didn't want the woman that killed his father to sound nice and to be so apologetic. He wanted her to be a snarling red-eyed she-beast deserving of her caged existence.

"Okay, you've piqued my interest but if this turns out to be a wild goose chase or an attempt to harm my family or anyone closely associated with my family…I'll make sure that it's really easy for the Volturi brothers and their associates to have access to you. Don't' think I can't do it." He couldn't do it but he didn't want her to know that. It wasn't a good lie but he couldn't think of anything else to say or any way to threaten her.

She chuckled. She actually chuckled.

"Don't worry, Ed…Detective. If they find out I've spoken to you, you won't have to worry about following through on your threat. I'll probably be dead before you get here."

Edward gasped lowly.

"Well, if you just give me that number to the Classification Officer or direct me to it, I'll get on that call right away." She didn't sound like she was afraid of death. Her fear seemed to stem from not getting to him in time. He was very curious at this point.

"Absolutely, Mr. Cullen…"

She was very respectful of him and gave him all the numbers and names he needed. She said softly that she would see him soon and reminded him to hurry. He hung up with a feeling of vertigo and put his head in his hands.

He called Jasper right after he made the calls he needed to see Jane right away. It was surprisingly easy as though they were waiting on his call. The classification officer put him through to the Warden who told him he would be on the visitors list for Saturday and what time to come. Edward hung up thinking that something major was about to happen in the course of his life because nothing this bureaucratic should be that simple.

****DBW****

"_Whitlock."_

"Hey, man. I got that call from Jane I was expecting."

There was a pause and Jasper finally spoke,

"_Are you okay, Edward? Do you need some more company? We can just come and have dinner with you two."_

Edward smiled as his future brother-in-law's thoughtfulness,

"Nah. You three enjoy your night out. I'm cool. I'm surprisingly alright. I need to ask you a favor."

"_Shoot, amigo."_

"I have to go down to Dwight on Saturday. I have to be there before 1 p.m. They stop taking visitors after that time. Will you come with me? She's allowed up to five visitors at a time."

"_Of course I will. I was going to volunteer anyway."_

"Thanks, man. I need…a friend. Also, she has information about the _Night Stalker_ that I think may be legitimate. You should hear it firsthand. I was able to hurdle over too much red tape for this to be nothing. I'll tell you about that on the way there. Isabella would feel much better about me going if you were there anyway."

"_You don't even have to explain. I'll be there with my shit-kickin' boots on."_

Edward paused,

"Okay. I didn't need that visual but I'll assume that means you'll be ready and waiting."

Jasper laughed and Edward was actually calmed by him through the phone. If that Zen shit Jasper was practicing was powerful enough to calm others via airwaves, he was going to suggest he bottle that power and sell it. He could make a fortune and almost be as wealthy as his sister.

They hung up agreeing that no one needed to know their plans for Saturday until after Amanda's birthday party ended and people were too drunk and/or sleepy to give them a hard time about it. Edward called his captain and told him what had transpired. Captain Morris told him he could arrange for a police escort through each jurisdiction so they could get there faster. Edward turned him down. He was taking his Mercedes. Police escorts would probably slow him down. Also, he was in no exceptional hurry to sit across from the woman that killed his father. He would enjoy the leisurely ride downstate with his partner's calming vibes to get him through this.

He really wished he could take Isabella with him. The only person that calmed him more than Jasper was his little lady. However, he could not bear to have her within one hundred feet of Jane no matter how nice she sounded on the phone. She was going to have to sit this one out and he was going to have to deal with being away from his Isabella for most of the day.

****DBW****

He stepped out of his office and felt like he was stepping into another world. The delicious comforting aromas of the culinary delights Isabella was creating hit his nose and made his mouth water and his stomach growl loudly. He walked into the kitchen and he couldn't help but smile at the site before him.

Isabella had on black Converse and black skinny jeans different than the ones she wore to work. She had on one of his jerseys but it must've been one from his senior year of high school because it was so big on her it was hanging off one shoulder and revealed the soft silky skin of her shoulder. He wanted to see if she had on his favorite color in bras, midnight blue, under his shirt and he finally realized the search was pointless. She wasn't wearing anything under his jersey. He could tell more clearly as he came closer to her because he could see the soft jiggle of her unrestrained breasts as she rolled and kneaded the dough for dinner rolls. His body immediately reacted because it reminded him of what he wanted to do to her lovely body as soon as he had the chance.

She was lost in her work and hadn't really noticed him. He could tell she was engrossed because the tip of her little tongue was peeking out the side of her mouth over her top lip. She had her hair up in a messy bun with two pencils sticking out of it and an apron that he couldn't see from the front but he knew said,

'_Kiss the Cook.' _

So he did. He wrapped his hands around her waist from behind and kissed her at the corner of her mouth where her tongue was sticking out. She jumped a little and then turned around and relaxed into his embrace. They both moaned and deepened the kiss. She rested the underside of her flour covered hands on his shoulders, trying not to get him dirty.

He smiled at her and grabbed both of her hands kissing them.

"Now we're both covered with flour."

She laughed and pinched his nose leaving two flour fingerprints on the side of each nostril which made her laugh harder.

He smooched her on her cheek.

"What are you cooking? It smells good in here."

"I'm making chicken parmesan with penne noodles, asparagus and fresh baked dinner rolls that will be covered in a garlicky butter sauce. By the way, we need to go shopping after we stop by my apartment tonight."

"Your wish is my command, milady." She said thank you softly, smiled and continued working on the rolls.

His stomach growled again,

"Uh oh. That's Chester."

She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion and turned her head to give him a questioning look.

"Chester is the monster that lives in my stomach. He's been dormant for a while but you seem to wake up all the monsters in me." He gently sucked on her earlobe and squeezed her hips, rubbing his hand lightly over her left butt cheek.

Her eyes closed slightly but she was still chuckling,

"You named the hunger pangs in your stomach?"

"Of course I did but they're not pangs. That's a common misconception. It's a monster. Clearly it's male and I think he looks a lot like that the _Chester Cheetos_ Cheetah. So, I decided to give him his name. I don't think they'll sue."

She was still chuckling at the two flour fingerprints on each side of his nose that he hadn't bothered to wipe away.

"Let me get this straight…you have _seen_ the hunger _monster_ in your stomach and decided that it resembled a cartoon cheetah that eats snack food that has no nutritional value whatsoever?"

"Yeah, but they taste pretty damn good. The hunger monster doesn't care about nutritional value. He approves of the name and…wait a minute…he asked me just now when dinner would be ready."

She raised an eyebrow at him after she wiped her hands with a kitchen towel, grabbed a paper towel and wiped his nose.

"It'll be ready in twenty minutes, crazy man."

He stopped and turned his ear as though he were listening to someone,

"_You say you can be patient and wait twenty minutes, Chester? Okay, that's good...what? You say you want to hook up with the alien that lives in Isabella's tummy? Well, I'd have to ask Isabella about that. I don't even know the alien's name or if it's a boy or a girl. What? You're not picky? Okay, I'll tell her."_

He looked at Bella and starting speaking as though she weren't privy to his silliness,

"Chester is an open-minded little guy. He doesn't care if it's a girl or a boy as long as it's as wonderful as you. Do you want him to meet the alien in your stomach that growls when you're hungry or should I tell him that he or she is already in a relationship?"

She just looked at him strangely and said,

"Seek help, my love." She laughed and kissed him softly. "Go take a shower. By the time you come down the food will be ready and you'll probably stop hearing voices."

He laughed loudly,

"Okay, but Chester hasn't been in a relationship for a while. He is not going to let this one go."

"Uh huh. I'll talk it over with my alien." She chuckled and shook her head at him as he smacked her bottom, practically got on his knees to kiss her stomach and walked away chanting,

"_Go Chester! Get your date on! Go Chester!" _ Isabella was still laughing called him a weirdo as he was walking up the stairs.

He loved spending alone time with Isabella, but he really missed Amanda when she was gone and that was a lot lately. He couldn't wait until the excitement over her wore off and he could sit and have dinner with both of his girls. He still needed to order Isabella and Amanda sized kitchen furniture. He would do that before he went to sleep for the night.

He wanted to be as light-hearted as possible with her before they visited her apartment. He knew it would be disturbing for her. Hopefully, all of this business would be done tonight so she could focus on making Amanda's birthday cakes tomorrow and the party Friday. He couldn't wait to spend a whole day with her and watch her face as she was surprised by the people that came in town just to visit her and help her celebrate her sister's life.

****DBW****

_**Rec for this week:**_

_**You Never Go Back by nydollface**_

_**http : . net/s/6386182/24/You_Never_Go_Back **_

_**Summary: Edward is a young fire fighter in NYC. Choosing the life he wants rather than what his parents want, he finds happiness and love. This is a very well-written and passionate story that was brought to my attention by Humble4. I really love it. I hope you will too.**_

_**A/N: I wanted to mention that Humble4 and Aniseed were nominated for 'Best Reviewer' at the Sunflower Awards Blog spot. Aniseed was also nominated for 'Best Beta,' Once again, voting starts in May and it would be great to see these ladies win. I wanted to correct my wording from before. It wasn't me that was nominated in those categories, it was the story. These ladies are part of the reason why anything I write makes sense. So, if you feel inclined to vote for this story, it's also a vote for them. **_

_**The next chapter will begin with the visit to Bella's apartment. **_

_**Okey dokey then. Have a great weekend everybody! **_


	23. Chapter 23

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**A/N: I want to thank Humble4 and Aniseed for being patient with me and asking me the tough questions when needed. **_

_**Voting for the Sunflower Blog Awards begins today. There are a lot of great stories there. Please check out the site even if you don't vote. **_

_**http : / thesunflowerawards (.) /**_

Chapter 23 – Bella's Apartment

The time Bella and Edward spent together had been pretty light-hearted up until she started preparing dinner. She watched him go into his office and close his door with a somber look on his face after he spoke with Rose. The closed door to his office meant that he was either making a weighty call or receiving one. Bella had decided to busy herself with cooking and have faith that he would tell her soon enough what was going on.

Over the course of the time she had spent there, they had gotten into a routine of sorts. While she cooked, he set the table at the kitchen island. They didn't eat in the dining room when it was just the two or the three of them. Occasionally, they would take their food to the ottoman in the seating area and watch a movie while they ate. When he cooked she would take over the table setting duties.

She mused over how domesticated and mannerly Edward was. Her previous relationships consisted of her asking her boyfriends to please eat with their mouths closed or if they could please eat at a table and have a nice pleasant conversation instead of yelling at each other over music or whatever game was playing. Edward enjoyed an occasional game and he would play his music throughout the house but when she opened her mouth to speak, he turned everything down or off completely, unless they had agreed to listen to something or watch something together.

There were parts of her that battled with the ease in which they fit together. She felt that she was merging with him and that scared her because she wanted her own wholeness. Her entire life had consisted of blending. She had blended into the background and worked diligently so no one would look at her too long or too harshly. However, for fear of disappearing all together, she wanted an identity that didn't revolve around being Edward's woman, Amanda's caretaker, or Charlie Swan's daughter. Thoughts of allowing it to be revealed to the world that she was H.R. Higgenbotham had started to take shape in her mind. It would shock her publishing company, Angela, her publicist, her lawyer and her agent because she was so adamant about having her privacy. Nevertheless, she felt it was about time that she let people know who she was.

****DBW****

Bella knew that Edward was more than willing to take Jasper with him to meet with Jane Volturi, née Anderson, but would move heaven and earth to keep her away. She was a little insulted but as long as she knew he was safe she could breathe.

Jasper and Edward had an implicit trust for each other and Edward was quickly accepting Jasper as an older brother. Edward knew Jasper was too important to Alice and Jasper knew how important her brother was to her. They both had the Lilliputian to answer to.

Bella sensed his relief. His siblings looked up to him and having Jasper around took off some of the self-imposed pressure he felt to be the protector all of the time. She could tell that he had started to narrow down that role to just her and Amanda. Nevertheless, somehow she felt that his attentions would falter if they weren't stuck together in this situation with the _Night Stalker_.

The insecurity she felt about their relationship was insidious. Jasper had discussed marrying Alice with Edward. Angela was already married. However, since that night in his Jacuzzi, he hadn't brought the matter up again. He had wanted to wait for them to consummate their relationship. She had forced the issue and although she felt loved by him she wondered how motivated a man was to marry a woman that he didn't have to wait for. She was already cooking for him, making love to him and pampering him in other ways.

In her mind she knew she sounded like her grandmother,

"_Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free?"_

She didn't like thinking of herself as a cow and it was an archaic and cliché idiom on the one hand. On the other hand, that didn't make it untrue. She didn't want to shack up with him because she felt that would be a bad example for Amanda. She had the feeble excuse of being in police custody for staying there now but that would end soon, one way or the other. What then if she survived this?

She was a twenty-first century girl and had seriously considered asking him to marry her. Yet, Edward was definitely old-fashioned in many of his ways and was already concerned about her witnessing him at his most vulnerable times. She knew instinctively that he would feel she had assumed his role if she popped the question but traditional gender roles were something that she didn't necessarily want to be stuck in.

Her father's voice kept coming into her mind,

"_Things usually end how they begin." _

She didn't want to start giving over her power now and regret it later. She paused and considered if she was more like her mother than she ever knew. She had always thought she took after her father in his temperament and sensibilities but maybe that was because she had to be the responsible one between her and her mother.

In the middle of her mental deliberations, Edward wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his stomach. All of her speculations about what might happen melted away temporarily while his embrace brought her back into the present moment.

"Are you ready to go, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, I'm ready. I think I'm going to drive my car back. Is that okay with you?"

He looked down at her with scrunched eyebrows,

"Of course, baby. You don't even have to ask. You want to take both cars to the store or come back, park and drive one car?"

She smiled and squeezed his hands, "We can drive back here, park and take one car…my car. I'm driving mister."

He laughed and said,

"No problem. I get to critique your driving skills now." He let out a sinister cackle and twirled an imaginary handlebar mustache.

She laughed, "Come on, silly man. Time's a wastin'." She smacked him on the bottom like he always did to her and ran towards the door.

"Ow! Officer Puddin', that's excessive force! Payback is coming."

He smiled at her and he took her hand in his as they walked down to the garage to drive the short distance to her building. She thought it was silly to drive, however, he felt that it was safer so they were doing it his way. She really didn't mind but she was starting to keep count of how many times she capitulated to him and she didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She wanted to talk about how she was feeling with someone. A talk with Angela was on her agenda for that evening. She would call her right after she called to say good night to Amanda.

****DBW****

They pulled into her three-car attached garage and parked next to her deep sea blue pearl 2009 Audi A4 and a 1950's era red Chevrolet pick-up. Her father and Billy Black had worked on the pick-up every weekend between fishing expeditions. When her father passed, her mom took over care of it and she and her mom drove it to Phoenix. When her mom passed, she took possession of it. She took it to an antique car dealer and had them paint it and fix it up to pristine working condition while modernizing the sound system after she received her first non-royalty payment from her publisher. It still had the bulbous fenders of that truck style and the white-walled wheels of that era.

When Edward saw it he smiled and started humming the theme to the sit-com _Sanford and Son_ under his breath. Bella punched him in the arm and he chuckled but commented that it was a good-looking truck. She couldn't wait to show it to Jacob.

As they approached the garage door that led into the main entryway, she felt a chill that wasn't due to the mid-August evening. It didn't feel like her home anymore. She had the insane urge to knock but she fought against it and used her keys to let herself and Edward in. They walked the two flights to her apartment first.

"Baby, this shouldn't take long. Everything of importance in the apartment has been inventoried and cataloged. All I need you to do is tell me if anything stands out to you as odd, missing or even if there's anything here that wasn't here before."

Bella felt a mild sense of violation that there was a list of her belongings sitting in some file in a computer that anyone had access to. She wondered if they found her 'toy' chest under her bed or her diary from when she was nine. Fortunately, the books she had written were in storage. In her current state of mind, she felt that it wasn't even _her stuff_ anymore. Her life had become community property on display for everyone to peruse. She felt the anger rise up to her neck but it hadn't quite reached her face.

"Isabella, are you okay? We can come back another day. In fact, we don't have to do this at all if you don't want to. Angela did it via _Skype _with a remote camera and an inventory list." He ran his hands patiently and reassuringly over her shoulders.

She realized she was standing in the entryway of her apartment and hadn't really walked in.

"No. I want to get this over with and we're already here." He nodded but he didn't push her forward. He waited until she was ready to take the first step.

She immediately paused and stopped breathing momentarily as soon as she walked into the living room. There was the message written on the wall in a red marker that Jasper had already warned her about,

'_You should've stayed in hell. I'll make sure you stay there this time.'_

The words were printed in such an angry scrawl that she imagined them becoming animated and attacking her all on their own. Edward squeezed her shoulders and moved her quickly past the message into her bedroom. It was a catastrophe. Bella wasn't the neatest person in the world but this was beyond the pale.

Everything was everywhere. Nothing was where it was supposed to be. She couldn't even imagine the energy to go into this type of frenzy and she couldn't figure out for the life of her why anyone besides her and Edward would be interested in the contents of her bedroom.

"Sweetheart do you want some water?" As soon as he suggested water, her throat started to burn from thirst. Then she realized an overwhelming stench of rotting flesh was wafting throughout the apartment. She gagged a little and looked at Edward with wide eyes,

"That's probably your refrigerator and the garbage, baby. If you have any standing water in your sink, that'll give off a pretty foul odor too. I'll get you some water and open up these windows. Why don't you sit down for a second?"

All of her thoughts about wholeness, her own identity, and independence were pushed to the back burner. She was so thankful that Edward was there and was used to this type of scene. His steadfastness was what she needed at that moment.

She heard her freezer door open and cabinet doors opening and closing. She heard the water running and was suddenly overcome with embarrassment. Her boyfriend and future husband, hopefully, was witnessing and maneuvering in the filth that was her apartment. She jumped up and went to the kitchen to get her own water.

There was a glass on the counter filled with ice, the water was running and Edward was opening up windows. He had placed a white garbage bag on the counter and the refrigerator door was open. That was definitely the cause of the majority of the stench.

She covered her nose and looked at him. He smiled at her and didn't seem fazed at all. She had her hand over her nose and mouth. She guessed being around his fair share of dead bodies made this smell bearable.

"I was just letting the water get cold while I let some air in here. The refrigerator was turned off for some reason. While you're looking over your bedroom, I'll clean it out and take out the garbage. Take your time baby. There are two squad cars outside. Don't worry about the windows being open while I'm taking out the trash, okay? They're watching out for us." He rubbed her back. "Be careful of the broken glass in there, love. Why don't you put these gloves on? Let's call a cleaning crew in the morning to come in and get that glass picked up and clean up in here, okay?"

He filled the glass with water, handed it to her and kissed her cheek softly. She accepted the water mutely, put the gloves that looked like they were for gardening on, nodded and returned to her bedroom. All three mirrors in the bedroom were smashed to pieces. She stepped carefully over glass, clothing, books and other random things looking for anything 'unusual.' This whole scene was unusual. How was she supposed to narrow down the abnormal? She took a sip of the cold water and decided to start in her bathroom.

All of the mirrors in there were smashed as well but everything else was in place. She checked her closet and the only thing that seemed to be touched there were some photo albums that were stacked on her shelf. She reached up and gathered them in her arms to take them with her. She grabbed a huge tote she had in the closet and piled them in there. Oddly, the biggest mess was in the bedroom.

Bella managed to turn her chest of drawers upright and saw that nothing was left in them. Edward came in and asked if she needed any help lifting anything else. She shook her head no and kept looking. As she was looking at everything and under everything, she caught a reflection of herself in one of the shards of glass on the floor. Her face was completely pale and she was shaking. Several strands of hair had come out of her ponytail and she looked a little wild.

She went to her bathroom to search for her comb and brush to put her hair back into some semblance of order and splash some water on her face. The middle drawer of her vanity was where she kept them. She opened the drawer without really looking and reached in to pull them out. However, her hands didn't immediately find them so she looked down and searched around further back in the drawer. Her comb and brush were missing. She couldn't believe that someone ransacked her home for a comb and brush. She figured it must've been mixed in with some of the toiletries Angela and Ben were able to smuggle out of the building and Alice brought over for her.

She walked back into the kitchen area with Edward and noticed that the refrigerator was completely cleaned out and her garbage had been taken out and the bag had been replaced. The smell was dissipating but it wasn't completely gone. Edward walked back into the front door and she jumped a little dropping her glass into the sink and it made a loud clinking sound.

"You alright, puddin'? Did you notice anything missing of importance?" He caressed her cheek and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm alright. Just a little jumpy. I noticed that my photo albums seemed to be tampered with and I can't find my comb and brush. I've been using the set Alice brought me but they might be mixed in with some stuff I haven't gone through yet. Other than that, I don't see anything missing."

"Well, I want to apologize because I should have come by here and cleaned out this refrigerator and emptied the garbage a week ago. Ben already did that in Angela's apartment so we don't have to go in there unless you want to take a look around and assess the damage, landlord."

"You don't have to apologize, sweetie. That wasn't your responsibility. I should have come by here as soon as it happened. I probably could've salvaged some of that meat that spoiled. Now all that food has gone to waste and I try not to ever waste food." She frowned while thinking about the homeless people sleeping under bridges downtown and the food pantries for the homeless that could've really used that meat. "I'll take a look down there."

Edward went back through and closed all of her windows, checking and double-checking to make sure they were locked. He lifted her tote off of her shoulder to carry and gently placed her hand in his.

"You ready?

Bella grabbed her car keys as they walked out and walked down to the first floor apartment. She nodded as she looked back at her apartment that used to be her safe haven.

Angela's apartment was much more colorful than Bella's. Every wall in the living room area was a different color. The kitchen was a terra cotta color with rust orange colored tiles in the back-splash of the stove and over the counter-tops. Bella hadn't even painted her walls. Amanda's room was the only painted room and that was because Angela decorated.

Her place had a pleasant citrus-like aroma like there was an air freshener piped through the vents. Her bedroom was the only thing that had been disturbed. It had been trashed just as thoroughly as hers but the mirrors weren't smashed in the bedroom or the bathroom.

They walked out and Bella locked up Angela's apartment. They walked back out the side entrance to the garage.

"Edward, do you know if Angela and Ben drove her BMW to his mom's?"

"No, it's parked at her mom's. Ben followed Angela out there and they must've driven on to Carmen's place in Naperville from there in his car."

Bella opened the door to her car and felt an immediate sense of security. It didn't look like anyone had even come into the garage. Edward told her that the intruder entered from Angela's bathroom window that was left slightly ajar to clear out the steam from her shower. He had kicked Bella's door in. Edward had already had the door jamb replaced and the door secured that first day. The intruder probably didn't get a chance to do all of the exploring he wanted to because all of the noise he was making alerted the neighbors and the police came to investigate it. Apparently, he went out the same way he came in.

They both pulled out of her garage and Edward signaled for her to idle in the driveway while he got out and made sure the garage door was secure. He looked around the side to see if there were any windows open or anything and when he was satisfied he signaled to the squad cars that they could move on.

When they arrived back at his garage he parked. She saw him bend over to grab his Glock out of the glove compartment and place it in his belt holster. She opened the door for him and they headed to her favorite whole-foods store.

The drive was silent. They both seemed to be contemplating something deeply. He finally looked at her, smiled and said,

"I just saw someone on a motor scooter pass you up and give you the finger for driving so slowly."

"Ha, ha. That was so funny I forgot to laugh." He laughed at her and ran his hand through her hair.

"Take your time. The slower we go the more time I get to spend with my Isabella alone."

She swallowed hard because she wanted to blurt out a marriage proposal right then but she had to restrain herself.

"I know I sound like a broken record but are you okay? When someone breaks into your home it can feel something like…rape. I mean, you can go through all the same emotions associated with being violated." He grimaced thinking that his words came out wrong.

She smiled at him, "I know what you mean and I do feel violated. I'm just glad no one was home when he came. I'm grateful to you and your grandmother for taking all of us in that night. He probably would've still climbed through Angela's window even with the squad cars outside. I'm glad she decided to bring Amanda to come and get me. There are so many things I'm grateful for right now."

He kissed the hand that was resting on the console between the seats as she pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store. He hopped out and ran around the car to open the door for her and was looking around the lot for anyone or anything suspicious as he offered her his hand to help her out of the car. He couldn't imagine that anyone would even know this car. She pulled his hand towards her and kissed his palm before she took it snatching him away from his surveillance. He smiled down at her and they walked hand in hand into the store.

****DBW****

They were teasing each other and having a good time while they shopped. He was complaining about the prices which caused her to roll her eyes at him because he could afford to shop anywhere he wanted to, however, he shopped at _Aldi's, Wal-Mart_ and _CostCo_. He was truly frugal when it came to grocery shopping. Bella didn't splurge on much but she made the exception for food.

He was putting a nine dollar block of cheese back on the shelf while Bella was reaching to put it back in the cart when he heard a nasally voice and he closed his eyes with an annoyed look.

"Edward?" He gave Bella a deeply apologetic look and dropped two of the overpriced blocks of cheese in their cart. He pulled her close to him and whispered in her ear,

"I love you and I apologize beforehand for anything that's about to happen."

She looked at him confused until he spoke,

"Hello, Tanya. I didn't know you shopped around this way. You're kind of far from home aren't you?"

She was staring at his arm around Bella's waist when she said,

"Yeah, sometimes I shop here. Who is this?" He mumbled something under his breath and said,

"Tanya Williams this is Isabella Swan. Isabella, this is Tanya."

He pulled Bella closer to his side. She wasn't as pretty in person to Bella as she was in pictures. She looked…fake. Bella held out her hand to her and Tanya looked at it like it was diseased so she put it back down and Edward released her waist and entwined her hand with his and started to push the cart away.

"Well, it was good seeing you Tanya we have to get going."

"_We_ have to get going? Edward who the fuck _is_ this?"

Bella was getting pissed so she spoke up.

"I'm Edward's lady, Isabella, but you can call me Bella if you'd like."

Tanya's whiny voice got louder.

"His lady? Bitch please! I'm Edward's lady. You're just some chubby heifer pushing his cart around."

Edward was about to interrupt but Bella put her hand to his chest, stepped up to her and said,

"Yes, Tanya, I'm his lady. You know what a lady is, don't you? She's someone who doesn't lay spread eagle on anyone's bed waiting to be screwed for money. That makes you a hooker, not a lady."

Edward immediately pushed her behind him and stood in front of her.

"Tanya, why don't you just keep on shopping before we cause a bigger scene in here? You know how long we've been apart. Please don't do this. I warned you last time that I'll get a restraining order against you and file harassment charges against you."

Bella looked around his waist at her face and her eyes had turned as red as her hair.

"Edward, I can't believe you! What have you been telling people about me?"

"Tanya, I told the woman that I'm in love with the truth about my past and, unfortunately, that includes you."

She was fuming and her fists were balled up. Bella felt the need to protect Edward so she maneuvered around him and stood by his side. Tanya started cackling.

"The woman you're in love with? So, now the image is complete; lily white family and lily white ugly fat bitch on your arm. At least you could've chosen a pretty white girl. Then, I wouldn't be so offended."

Edward started to speak but Bella stopped him again,

"No. I got this."

She walked up to Tanya and looked right up into her eyes. She felt a lot like Shirley Masen at the moment and she was fully prepared to kick this woman's ass.

"I'd rather be the ugliest fattest woman on this planet than your skinny fake desperate ass. What exactly is your malfunction? You hurt him and cheated on him. The relationship is over. Deal with it. Act your age. Seek help. Dial a friend. Most importantly, leave _my man_ alone because the next time you come sniffing around what's mine I'm going to forget I'm a lady and pummel your sniveling ass into the ground with my short stubby chubby white legs!"

"What's yours? You're just a rebound, skank. How could he want you when he's had this?"

Bella laughed, "Well, I could imagine that when a man's had _that_ he thanks his lucky stars he tests negative for STDs and tries to block out the memory." Edward unsuccessfully tried to stifle a snicker.

Tanya lifted up her fist like she was going to hit Bella and she backed up to fight back. Edward grabbed Bella around the waist and pulled her back while two security guards came up to the scene.

"What's going on here?" The older guard asked.

An older black lady who saw the whole thing spoke up,

"This nice young couple was shopping and this woman came up and started bothering them." Bella and Edward looked at her surprised but nodded in agreement.

The younger guard said,

"Okay, miss, you have two choices. You can either finish your shopping in peace or leave."

She huffed at the older woman, glared at Bella and started walking towards the exit door. The security guards followed her out and a couple of people started clapping. The lady that spoke up for them came up to Edward and Bella and said,

"I heard the whole thing and she was completely out of line. Don't let people like that bother you. I've been married to my husband for twenty-four years. He's Polish and we have four kids and eight grandkids. Stay safe and you two have a blessed day."

Edward spoke up politely, "Thank you, ma'am. I may need to get a restraining order against her. Would you be willing to make a statement on our behalf?"

She smiled and patted his cheek, "Absolutely!" She gave him a business card with her name and smiled at Bella as she walked out.

He looked ashamedly at Bella and said,

"Don't worry. I'm getting that restraining order ASAP."

****DBW****

They finished shopping, which included some things she needed for Amanda's birthday party cakes, quietly. As they were driving back to the loft, Bella spoke up,

"I haven't had to fight since the day Leah jumped in and stopped this girl from bullying me in front of the only real grocery store in Forks. It was like déjà vu today."

"Isabella, I'm so sorry. After we drop these things off, I'm going right to the station to get harassment charges pressed against her and put in the paperwork to get a judge to sign off on a restraining order."

"Edward, what are you sorry for? Did you know she was going to be there?"

"Of course I didn't, Isabella, but you shouldn't have to deal with bullshit from my past on top of everything else you're dealing with."

"Well, Edward, we're in this together so I'm going to have to deal with stuff from your past and vice versa. So don't apologize."

They pulled back into his garage and started unloading her car. As soon as they were done, Edward's phone started ringing.

"Cullen speaking."

"_Cullen, this is Captain Morris. I just received some information that I need to talk to you about. I need you in my office tomorrow at 8 a.m."_

"Sir, Isabella Swan works tomorrow and I don't want to be late for when her shift starts."

"_Edward, Jasper is there so everything will be fine. Be here at 8 a.m."_

"Sir, I'm coming in tonight to take care of some business. I'll be there in about ten minutes. Can we talk then?"

He heard huffing and grumbling on the other end,

"_Yeah, I'll see you then." _He disconnected the line_._

He cursed to himself because he knew whatever it was he had to come in for it couldn't be good.

He kissed Bella good-bye and left for the station promising to talk to her about everything when he got back.

****DBW****

When he walked into the station nobody really paid him much attention so he figured he wasn't in too much trouble. Keisha, the administrator for the IT Department winked at him and asked for a hug which he gladly gave. He walked back and knocked on his captain's office door.

"Come in, Edward."

"Thank you, sir."

Edward sat down in one of the leather chairs in front of his desk. Captain Morris was trying to do something on his computer and was cursing under his breath. He wasn't too computer literate.

"Edward, I received an email with a clip of you at a grocery store this evening with our witness, Isabella Swan."

Edward's mouth fell open and his eyes widened slightly.

The captain turned his flat screen monitor on his desk top around for Edward to see once he figured out how to pull it up.

There it was as plain as day; Bella and Tanya squaring off at each other in the middle of the grocery store and him standing there like an idiot.

"Sir, I took Ms. Swan by her apartment tonight to see if she could tell me if there was something missing. She needed to go to the grocery store because we…the loft was out of food. That's where we ran into an old…acquaintance of mine and they didn't get along so well." He closed his eyes because he knew that someone had been following them and he was too careless and preoccupied to notice. Also, the scene he was involved in with a protected witness should not have ever occurred and it was a complete embarrassment to the department.

When he looked up, his captain's shoulders were shaking with laughter.

"Edward, it looks to me like your ex-woman ran into your new woman and they got into a little cat fight at the grocery store."

Edward was speechless and just hung his head. When he finally figured out what to say he began to explain,

"Sir, I…."

"Edward, cut out all of this 'sir' business. We've known each other for ten years now. Call me Laurent unless we're doing official business. This is not official business."

Edward looked surprised, "It's not?"

"No, I just wanted to give you a heads up that if you take Isabella out again you need to be more careful because someone is definitely following you."

"Is there any way to tell who sent the email, si…Laurent?"

"No, I can't tell. Why don't I forward it to you and you can figure that out with Jasper and Victoria."

Edward gave Laurent his personal email address and he sent it to him. Laurent sat back and really examined Edward's face before he spoke.

"Look, Edward, I know you think I'm a moron."

Edward's eyes widened in shock. He was about to protest but Laurent stopped him.

"Don't even say you don't. I've heard you and Jasper talk about me calling this guy the _Night Stalker_ and how I got it all wrong. I hear you mocking me."

Edward felt completely embarrassed that he had been caught doing something so unprofessional. The captain smiled at him.

"I was your age once. I thought everyone my age was a moron too." He chuckled and pulled open his drawer. "Let me show you something."

He pulled out a picture of his wife and kids and set it on the desk.

Edward looked at the family portrait with surprise. Laurent was sitting next to his wife and his two sons were surrounding him. His wife was white with strawberry blond hair and his sons were both about Edward's complexion and one had dreadlocks like his. The other was wearing a police uniform. He looked up at his captain and smiled.

"You have a beautiful family, Laurent. Why don't you keep this picture out?"

Well, everyone isn't very accepting of my personal life so I decided to keep it to myself as much as possible. My little family is here in my drawer to look at and remind me why I've kept this god forsaken job for as long as I have. You remind me a little of both of my sons sometimes. It's a little hard for me to not want to protect you like I would one of them to tell you the truth. My wife's name is Irina and my sons' names are Shawn and Eric. I talk to them about you all of the time."

Edward was a little surprised. He thought his captain just tolerated him.

"My son works for LAPD. Victoria worked with him in L.A. She's my sister-in-law. She's not very good with being on time and she gets horrible migraines that can be a little debilitating for her but she's my family. I hope you and Jasper aren't too angry with me for bringing her in on the case."

Edward smiled releasing all the doubts and fear he had about Victoria from his mind and body.

"No, sir. In fact, I'm glad you told me. I was a little suspicious of her."

"She told me she got that impression from the both of you."

Edward looked ashamed.

"Don't worry. I should've been more forthright about calling her in on this instead of pulling rank but I'm getting pressure from as high up as the Governor's office to keep the city from panicking and I had to show them I was doing something. Listen, I knew when you came in here and asked to be removed as lead detective that something was going on with you and Isabella Swan. I saw the way you reacted when I suggested that we didn't need another murder on our hands. I was a detective myself once, you know. You're a good man and a good detective Cullen but I want to say something to you that you might not like."

Edward straightened up in his chair.

"Take it from me. This is not the type of job you want to retire from. You need to do something that allows you to be creative and passionate. This job doesn't allow for passion, young blood. I know for a fact that you don't need the job financially and there are other things you are exceptionally good at. I know you were offered a music scholarship to U of C."

Edward gave him a questioning look.

"I have my sources. I have some advice for you, son. When this mess is over, and I'm confident it will have a positive outcome because I've already prayed about it, quit this damn job. Life is too short."

"Laurent, your son is a cop."

"You don't think I tried to talk him out of that craziness, especially moving clear across the country to L.A., in gang central? I'm hoping that, unlike my son, you'll listen."

His captain was the third person to tell him something like this.

"So, what happens with the footage from the grocery store? What if it ends up on _YouTube_ or at a news station?"

"What footage from the grocery store?" He was amazed that Laurent looked like he really didn't know what he was talking about as he used his mouse to delete the video.

Edward laughed, "You must've been a damn good detective."

He smiled big, "I had my moments. Now go home to your woman and suggest to her that she not have a brawl in the middle of any more grocery stores while she's in police custody. I already have heartburn. Don't give me a heart attack. I'm only fifty-eight and I want to enjoy my golden years when I retire next year. We'll deal with whatever we have to if it comes up. I really think this was just meant to rattle you."

Edward felt an odd sense of loss at his retirement announcement but reached out his hand to shake the Captain's. Laurent shook his hand and patted him on the shoulder in a paternal way.

"Laurent, you were right. That woman is my ex and I need to file a restraining order against her and I wanted to file harassment charges. Do you think it's wise to do both now or should I just get the restraining order?"

Laurent looked down and peered at this desktop where he had just deleted the footage of the grocery store incident.

"I'll tell you what, have McNichols write up the paperwork for the restraining order and I'll walk it through to a judge that I'm very close with. We can get that in place for you by tomorrow. Don't worry. Just hold off on the harassment charges for now."

Edward breathed a sigh of relief and thanked his captain again who waved him off.

Lisa was at her desk and Edward had her type up the paperwork and hand it to Captain Morris. She said it was about time. He chuckled at her and walked out anxious to talk to his Isabella about what just happened.

****DBW****

Bella had called Shirley's apartment, said good-night to Amanda and called Angela to talk for a few minutes since it was only 8 p.m. there.

"_Bella! What's up chica?"_

"Nothing much, lady. I just needed to talk."

"_Uh oh. What's going on? Is Amanda okay?"_

"Oh, she's fine. Everyone wants her to spend time with them so I haven't seen her much over these last two weeks. I probably miss her as much as you do."

"_Is that why you sound so down?"_

Bella sat down trying to figure out how to put into words how she was feeling. She decided to start with the easy stuff first.

"Ang, did you pack my comb and brush in the bag of stuff that Ben gave to Alice?"

"No, I completely forgot. You're not walking around looking like a wild woman are you?"

Bella laughed, "Yeah, because they completely stopped selling combs and brushes anywhere."

"Alright, smart-ass. So, you think _he_ took them?"

"Well, Edward told me he was collecting hair as souvenirs. Maybe he decided he couldn't wait to have mine."

"Oh man. That's creepy as hell. Did you tell Edward?"

"Not yet. I wasn't sure the set was missing until I spoke to you. I'm sure now."

There was a small silence and Angela finally spoke up,

"Bella what's really going on?"

Bella sighed because she really didn't call to talk Angela about this but she had to talk about what had just happened to her.

"Edward and I ran into his ex, Tanya."

"You did? What happened?"

"We got into a fight?"

Bella heard Angela gasp and drop the phone.

"You got into a fight with Edward's ex? Why? Did you kick her ass? Are you okay?"

"She pissed me off, Ang. She called me a ugly, white, fat heifer. She threw a 'bitch' in there a couple of times. We didn't actually come to blows because Edward pulled me away but I was going to fight. Even if I lost the fight, I was going to get one good punch in."

"No. She. Didn't! I'll be there tomorrow. Let's hunt that bitch down and kick her ass for real!"

Bella laughed hard because she knew that would be Angela's response. When she was your friend she was the sweetest person in the world. When she was your enemy, she could be vicious.

"Ang, she suggested that the only reason Edward is with me is because it completes his image of being in a lily white family with a lily white girlfriend."

"Bella, you know that's bullshit! Half of Edward's family is white and he's half white. That's not an image, it's reality. I see why nobody liked her ignorant ass. I just can't believe you were about to get into a fight in the middle of a grocery store. Where did my Bella go?"

Bella laughed because she couldn't believe it either. The Bella from two weeks ago would've scurried away out of embarrassment. However, Edward's love and affection had emboldened her, she loved him and felt he was worth fighting for.

"Ang, I don't know if this is an issue for you because your relationship is as new as mine but do you ever feel like you're blending with Ben and you don't have your own identity anymore?"

There was a pause and a slight sigh from Angela.

"Well, right not you two are constantly around each other and your lives revolve around his police work. That's an understandable feeling, sweetie. Bella, ever since I've known you you've always tried to be inconspicuous. I think your mother made you feel like you were a burden at times and you tried to become invisible. I know she loved you but she was so focused on getting what she wanted out of life it seemed like you were an afterthought."

If anyone else would've said this, she probably would've been angry but Angela knew her mother and she witnessed her behavior first hand.

"You know I think you're beautiful, loving, smart, talented and courageous. I've been so proud of the way you've allowed yourself to love Edward and didn't over analyze yourself out of a good thing. He does have a strong presence and personality but so do you when you let people in. However, to answer your question, no I don't feel like I blend with Ben because he wouldn't let me lose myself and he loves who I am. I have a feeling Edward won't let you do that either but you have to let him know how you're feeling. He loves you Bella."

Bella sighed because Angela always spoke to her as truthfully as possible and she always gave the best advice.

"Ang, I can't wait to see you and Ben tomorrow. Now, I don't want to hear about you joining the mile high club from my pilot. There's only so much my poor little brain can take."

"Hmmm…we'll have to carry enough cash to bribe the captain."

"Lalalalala…I didn't hear you."

Angela laughed hard.

"Okay, okay. We'll control ourselves. I'll see you then. Thanks for everything, Bells. I love you and just talk to Edward. I'm sure you'll find that you're worrying about nothing."

"Love you back and I hope you're right."

When Bella got off the phone she was feeling better about talking to Edward.

****DBW****

Edward walked in with dessert in two small bags fifteen minutes later.

"I brought home some of my grandma's peach cobbler and some vanilla ice cream."

"What? No strawberries?"

He kissed her nose and set the bags on the counter.

"I thought I'd do something a little different this time."

He smiled, kissed her softly and really examined her face.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"I want to talk to you about a couple of things."

He sat down at the kitchen island with a worried look on his face. She sat next to him instead of on his lap and he frowned. She placed both of his hands in hers.

"Edward, why is it that the Masen side of the family is so accepting of me?

Edward was still frowning as he leaned back in his chair.

"Why wouldn't they be accepting of you? You're the best thing that's happened to me lately. They just want me to be happy and I am. Is this because of the things Tanya said?"

She squeezed his hands tighter.

"It's not just Tanya. It's the world. We haven't been out there in the real world as a couple. We've been in our own little bubble of very accepting people. This is the first time we've gone out and I almost got into a fist fight and was called a 'fat, white, chubby bitch' and 'a rebound skank.'"

"Yeah, but Isabella, that was just a mad ex-girlfriend who reached for the most hurtful insults she could throw at you. Everybody else didn't seem to have a problem with us and you know none of that shit she said was true anyway."

"Edward, we're in Hyde Park. There are a lot of interracial couples here. Could we go out to Bridgeport, Cicero or even a suburb, like Harvey, and get the same reception?"

Edward swallowed hard because he knew they probably wouldn't be safe or accepted at all in those places. Chicago was still a very segregated city and there were still racial tensions.

"Shirley never said anything negative or had any apprehensions about your dad bringing home a white woman whose family had disowned her for being in love with a black man?"

"Isabella, my grandmother worked with the NAACP so that my father could get a good education, a good career, love who he wanted without limiting himself and live with dignity. She welcomed my mother because my father loved her. I've never heard any stories of her having any problems with my mother."

"You don't think things would be easier if you had a girlfriend that was black?"

He leaned forward in his chair with a slightly angry look on his face.

"Does it look like things were easier with Tanya, Isabella? All of my life I've been performing a balancing act. I wasn't black enough or I was too black for some people. I'm finally at a place in my life where I accept myself for all that I am and I fell in love with you in that place. We are going to get shit, Isabella. It is going to happen. What I need to know is if you're ready for it? If you feel like this is not the type of life you want, just let me know now because I need time to accept that I'm not going to be with the one woman I feel is made for me and if you feel an ounce of what I do, you'll need that time too."

Isabella's eyes widened,

"Edward, I'm not saying that I don't want to be with you. It's just that we've never talked about race or how being in this relationship is going to affect our lives. Don't you think we need to?"

He got up and got bowls and utensils for them to eat the dessert. He scooped up the cobbler and ice cream quietly, reminding her of the first day they met. She got up and poured two glasses of milk and sat back down.

Edward finally spoke up,

"Yeah, baby, I think we need to talk about it. I just need to know that we're not talking about why this relationship won't work because I don't think I can deal with that right now."

She jumped out of her chair and hugged him around his waist and kissed him softly on his stomach. He finally sat down

"No, that's not why I'm talking about this. I feel like we may need to be more open with each other than most couples because of how the world may see us. I've been thinking about my identity."

He looked at her confused.

"What do you mean by that, sweetheart?"

He put his spoon down and really looked at her.

"All my life I've been given these labels: the weird cop's daughter who hangs out with Quileutes, the hippie woman's daughter, Amanda's caretaker, Angela's friend, and now I'm Edward's lady, which I love being by the way. However, those are just bits of who I am and they are outside of me. Does that make sense?"

He looked like he was really considering if he understood and he finally nodded slightly so she continued speaking.

"I guess I'm starting to ask myself who I am really. You've been forced to figure that out because of external things like the color of your skin and losing your parents the way you did when you were so young. Loving you has made me feel like it would be unfair to you to bring a fragmented person into a relationship with two people that are supposed to be whole people; especially when we're going to have to deal with other people's personal hang-ups about us being together."

He frowned again.

"Isabella, you're twenty-five years old. I think we all go through an identity crisis of sorts at that age. I know I did. I realize I'm a little bit older than you but I didn't really think the age difference was significant enough to really impact our relationship. Things don't always happen when we're ready for them. Sometimes you just have to wing it."

Bella was a little offended.

"I'm not going through this just because I'm young Edward. I'm going through this because I've always tried to damper who I am to make other people feel more comfortable. I did it with my mother. I even did it with my father. I needed him around more but I didn't want to make him feel bad so I never said anything and then he was gone. I just can't do that anymore. Part of being with you means I can't blend into the background anymore."

"Do you feel like you have to bury yourself because of me?" His eyes took on a sad brown color.

"No! I feel like I want to be more of myself because of you. You make me feel important and wanted."

He finally smiled.

"So, you don't want to leave me and you even feel like being with me is good for you in a way?"

"Yes, Edward. I've already told you I'm never leaving you…unless you send me away. I just need to let you know how I feel. I can't let it fester inside because that's when I start wanting to disappear again."

"Is there something that you need from me to feel…whole?" His eyes were a content green again.

She made him push his chair back a little and she climbed in his lap like she usually did.

"I just need you to keep loving me and holding me."

He hugged her close to him and kissed her temple.

"I can do that."

They sat there as their ice cream melted and held onto each other.

"Edward, I'm thinking about letting the world know who I am. I want to let people know I'm H.R. Higgenbotham."

He pulled back from her and peered into her eyes.

"Okay, but that's going to change things for you drastically, baby, not only for you but for Amanda and me. I really don't think it's a good idea to do that right now while we're still trying to catch this guy. Also, I thought you wrote for a living but baking was your passion? How can you keep baking under the radar if you reveal who you are? Do you think giving up your anonymity will make you feel more complete?"

She really thought about what he was saying and the questions he was asking.

"No, I don't think it'll make me feel more complete but it'll help me feel like I'm not hiding anymore."

"Well, puddin', your decision to not be a celebrity and have some privacy is one that I, personally, think was a wise one. I don't know if potentially making a circus out of your life is a good idea. Ultimately, it's your decision and I'll stand behind you, beside you, wherever you need me to be to support you."

She ran her hands affectionately over his locks.

"I guess it's not something I have to decide tonight. I just wanted to run it by you to see what you thought."

He smooched her cheek, picked her up and set her gently in her stool.

"Let's finish eating, go to bed and talk more in the morning baby. I'm emotionally exhausted."

"Not until you tell me what happened when you went into the station."

"Oh man! I forgot to tell you. My captain, Laurent, told me that someone sent a video of us at the store to his email."

"What?" She dropped her spoon on the island making a clanking sound reverberate throughout the kitchen.

"That's what I said."

"Does he know who sent it?"

"No. He forwarded it to me and we're going to have to give it to Victoria so she can figure out who sent it."

"Are you in trouble with your captain?"

"No, he was actually trying to protect me and let me know what was going on. I think whoever sent it did it to let me know how close they were to me and possibly to get me in trouble or fired. It could've been the _Night Stalker_. It could've been somebody that knew Tanya. It's possible that Tanya was following me because she never shopped at that store for the year we were together. It would make sense if she had a partner in crime because I would've recognized her car if she was following me. Anyway, Laurent asked me not to file harassment charges right now because the video footage would have to be used. He did have me draw up an order of protection and he said he would have a judge he knew sign off on it."

"It sounds like your captain really likes you, Edward."

He smiled, "I found out we have a lot in common."

"Like what?"

"Okay lady, how many more questions are you going to ask me before I can snuggle with you and go to sleep?"

She laughed and climbed down from his lap because she was exhausted too. They cleaned up the kitchen together. As they walked up the stairs holding hands, they took solace in the fact that whatever they encountered in the world they would be doing it together.

"Edward, my comb and brush were the only things missing from the apartment. Angela didn't pack them."

Edward considered that the _Night Stalker_ probably took the set to get pieces of her hair but he was operating outside of his usual _motus operandi_ which was almost unheard of among serial killers. His phone rang pulling him out of his pondering.

****DBW****

"Cullen speaking."

"_Hey, Edward. I'm sorry to call so late but Malcolm called and said he did find DNA on the wig so he sent it to the Illinois State Police forensics lab to back up his conclusions. He said he would have a comprehensive report on Monday."_

Small pains shot through his chest,

"Well, for our case's sake, I hope the DNA is his and not one of his victim's."

"_I hear you, Edward. By the way, I received a strange call from Maria's father apologizing for his daughter's behavior. He also said that she would not be causing any problems for me here in Chicago and wanted me to apologize to Alice."_

Edward feigned ignorance,

"Isn't that something? Well, I guess you have one less thing to worry about then."

"_Cullen, I asked you to let me handle the situation with Maria."_

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Whitlock."

"_You would almost be convincing if it weren't for the fact that Rose called me to see if the Senator had called me yet. The only person besides Alice that knows about Maria is you."_

"Hmmm…it is a mystery how Rose would know about Maria. Well, I gotta go, buddy. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"_Edward, if I could reach you and ring your neck I really would if it weren't for the fact that I'm actually thankful for your meddling."_

"Well, Jazz, if I knew what you were talking about, I'd say you're welcome. However, our conversation sounds like a bunch of gobbledygook to me."

Jasper laughed,

"_So, you're sticking to your story. I see why Rose calls you trouble-maker now. I'll see you tomorrow."_

"Alright, man. Tell Mae Mae I love her and kiss Amanda good-night for me."

Edward and Bella didn't know what tomorrow would bring but everyone was safe tonight.

****DBW****

_**A/N: I apologize for the delay. RL reared its ugly head over the last week. I'm sure you don't want to hear my excuses so I'll let the apology stand alone.**_

_**I want to highly recommend my pre-reader's four stories, Humble4:**_

_**http:/www . fanfiction . net/u/1949363/Humble4**_

_**Her Choice to Make:**_

_**He's waited a lifetime to find her. When he does, she is lacking the mental capacity to make an informed decision. He works to heal her because immortality is her choice to make.**_

_**In the Woods:**_

_**Alice has a vision that leads her and Jasper to become Bella's fairy godparents, until the time is right for her to meet her Prince Edward and live Happily Ever After.**_

_**Coming Full Circle:**_

_**Sometimes in life things are destined to come full circle.**_

_**Coventry:**_

_**No one could have predicted that Coventry, the place that her mot****her ran away from at 18, would lead Bella to Edward and her very own Happily Ever After.**_

_**Enjoy the rest of the week and have a great weekend everyone!**_


	24. Chapter 24

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

**A/N: Thanks to Aniseed and Humble4, as always. They keep me in line and moving forward. Also, I'm sorry for the delay. Real life. What can you do? Thanks to those who have reviewed and put this on their favorites list. I hope I got back to everyone that reviewed. If I didn't, I apologize. I truly appreciate each and every review. Here we go. **

**Chapter 24 – Amanda's Birthday Party**

The same dream had visited Edward since he met Isabella almost every night in variations.

_The water was clear blue; so clear that he could see all the way down to the bottom. There were the brightest fish that he had ever seen swimming under the surface and the beach was filled with pristine white sand. He spun around and noticed he was completely surrounded by water everywhere he looked. He finally realized he was on an island and it was beautiful._

_Edward had on a linen shirt and shorts suitable for the sweltering heat of the sun. The wind was blowing his shirt so that it billowed behind him. His hair was long like it used to be, hanging to the middle of his back. The breeze brought the ocean air to his nose and he sat down on the beach chair under the umbrella that was conveniently placed there for shade. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply enjoying the day._

_He could hear a child's laughter close by. He opened his eyes and Amanda was standing over him giggling. _

"_Hello there, angel." She smiled so brightly he had to shield his eyes. He smiled at the adorable little girl that he loved like she was his own._

"_Amanda? What are you doing here? Where's your sister?" He became concerned._

"_She's here, silly. She wouldn't go anywhere without you or me." She gave him a 'duh' look and ran away giggling towards the water._

_He became panicked and sent out a warning to her, "Be careful, Amanda! There might be sharks out there!" His heart rate began to accelerate and then he heard the sweetest voice,_

"_You know you worry too much." He turned around to see Isabella in a midnight blue bikini with a matching sarong. Her hair was blowing around her heart-shaped face and gently caressing her shoulders. He could smell its strawberry scent in the air. The blue of the bikini contrasted her porcelain skin in a way that made her brown-haired beauty even more breathtaking. She smiled at him lovingly, wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his chest with an open mouth kiss. She looked up at him with her molten chocolate doe eyes and said,_

"_Did you know you're sparkling?"_

_He looked at his arms and hands and they were covered with sand that was sparkling and reflecting the sun. _

_He said with wonder,_

"_No, I didn't know." Suddenly, he became worried. "Does that freak you out a little?" He was anxious for her answer._

"_You know I don't care about your skin. I love you."_

_Suddenly, the sky that was clear blue began to darken. Clouds rolled in that finally turned the sky pitch black. Waves started crashing against the beach. He became frightened for Amanda._

"_Isabella, we have to go get Amanda away from the water."_

"_Oh, she's alright Edward."_

_He looked down because her voice wasn't right. But, the woman in his arms was almost eye-level. It was Tanya and he quickly let go. _

"_Tanya what in the hell are you doing here? Where is Isabella?"_

_Tanya started cackling, "She doesn't want you. If she wants to live past thirty she'll stay as far away from you as possible."_

_She backed away from him laughing loudly and her molecules split apart like a sandstorm. He panicked._

"_Isabella! Amanda! Please don't leave me. Where are you?" He wanted to tell them he loved them but he couldn't see them anywhere._

_He saw bright glistening teeth and he turned towards the glint. A man in the shadows with a long blond ponytail was holding Isabella and Amanda in each hand, like they were weightless. _

"_Are you looking for these?" He snarled out the question and licked his lips lasciviously._

_Their feet were dangling in the air, but they weren't crying out._

_Amanda said quietly, "Be our angel, Edward. Save us."_

_The man with the long blond ponytail said, "You'll never be able to save them, Cullen. Everything you love dies. They're mine."_

_Edward's voice came out like the roar of a jungle lion, "Mine. They are mine, not yours."_

"_You'll fail, Cullen. You always do." The man continued to taunt him._

"_Get away from them! I lo…" He couldn't get out the word because sand had lodged itself in his throat and that made him growl even more in frustration._

"_Let's see. Which one should I take? I'll take the bigger one. She looks like fun." His cackle became louder._

"_You can't have her!"_

_He rushed toward the voice in a fit of rage ready to tear apart anyone and anything that got in between him and Isabella. As soon as he got near enough to the man to tackle him, he disappeared in a puff of smoke and they were released._

_The clouds cleared and the sun came back out._

_Amanda giggled and ran into his arms, "See! Now do you see that you're an angel?" She ran back to the water and started playing again._

_Isabella beckoned to him. She was sitting casually in one of the beach chairs. She had taken off her sarong and he could see the creaminess of her thighs, the curve of her hips, and the smallness of her waist. She motioned for him to sit between her legs. He was drawn to her like a magnet. He pulled her up out of the chair and hugged her so tightly she giggled that she needed air. He wanted her. He wanted to take her on that beach right then and right there. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her fingers in his hair. He did the same and felt the soft silkiness of her locks slip through his fingers. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and he began softly sucking on her full bottom lip and unfastening her bikini bottom. She smacked his hand away and her cheeks turned a beautiful crimson,_

"_Amanda's right over there. We can't play now, but we will later." She smiled shyly at him. He moaned because she discreetly and lightly ran her little hand over his manhood that was aching for her._

_He asked her in a pleading voice, "You promise?"_

_She laughed and nodded at him. _

"_Of course I promise, Edward. I need you, too." She picked up one of his hands and softly kissed each knuckle. _

"_Now, sit down like I told you."_

_He smiled tenderly at her, "Yes, ma'am." He stopped her before she could sit and looked into her eyes, "You're safe with me. You believe that don't you?" She smiled and it was so bright he had to shield his eyes again._

_When he was situated between her legs she began to rub his scalp and hum to him. She was making the loveliest sounds and her intoxicating scent surrounded him coupled with the smell of the salty ocean water._

_Suddenly, a chiming sound was coming out of her mouth. He looked at her with a puzzled expression._

"_Isabella, why are you beeping?" She shrugged and smiled at him._

He woke up from the dream covered in sweat, half-aroused and half-panicked. He turned off his phone alarm that he set for 5 a.m. He looked down at Isabella who had wrapped herself around him tightly like she was trying to keep him there and he kissed the top of her head. He wanted to get up and order that kitchen furniture that he didn't get a chance to do the night before. He also had to call in someone to clean Isabella's and Angela's apartments and he wanted to go work out like he had promised Jacob he would do a week before.

"Did you know you talk in your sleep, too?" Bella said in a husky sleep-riddled voice.

"No, I didn't know, baby. Did it stop you from sleeping?"

"No." She giggled. "You do that a lot. I was asleep until about five minutes ago. You also grab me like you're trying to protect me sometimes." She looked up at him and kissed his chin. "Your hands wander which is my favorite part." She smiled widely and rested her chin on his chest and he realized that both of his hands were inside the back of her lace boy shorts. He guiltily removed them and she pouted as she wrapped his hands back around the small of her back.

He noticed her breath smelled like Listerine. He reached into his nightstand drawer and grabbed a strip for himself.

He kissed her sweetly and softly.

"I dream about you almost every night. Sometimes it's you and Amanda but mostly it's you. I have been since the first day I met you." He ran his hands through her hair and she rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"Oh, yeah? Did you know I can have my wicked way with you while you sleep and you would be none the wiser? I've done it before and I'll do it again." She smiled at him and laughed sinisterly.

He snorted, "Yeah, I seem to remember a certain naughty Tootsie Roll experiment. You know you can't fool me. The candy company didn't have anything to do with that." They both chuckled for a little while then Bella turned serious.

"What do you dream about that makes you want to protect me?"

"They're not always scary but sometimes the _Night Stalker_ is in my dreams and he threatens you and Amanda." She nodded in understanding and let him continue.

"Then you try to seduce me with your loveliness right in front of the baby, you shameless wanton woman."

He tapped her nose playfully and shook his head from side to side pretending to be disappointed in her. He would probably never reveal that Tanya was in his dream even though she was a nightmarish part of it. He wasn't crazy enough to think she would understand why he was dreaming about his ex; especially after their run-in the day before.

Her eyes widened playfully in horror and she said, "Oh no! Dream me seems very similar to the real me. Whatever shall we do about my wanton ways?" She grinned up at him and kissed his Adam's apple while she rubbed her center over his already half-aroused manhood.

"You gotta stop that, baby. We both have too much to do this morning. Get your sexy ass out of bed and get started on your sister's cake." He softly caressed her bottom with one hand and ran his other hand up her back in slow soft circles.

"Your mouth is saying one thing but your body language is telling me something completely different." He grew harder as she softly kissed and nibbled on him while rubbing against him with her hot wet center.

He laughed softly, "Isabella, you know I can't resist you. You have to be strong for both of us _Wonder Woman_. Am I going to have to restrain you with your own golden lasso of truth?"

She laughed loudly and pouted, "I always tell you the truth anyway. It would never work on me. You had a huge crush on Linda Carter when you were a kid didn't you?"

He chuckled and squeezed her bottom, "I plead the fifth."

"I knew it! Okay, okay. I'm up, party-pooper." She kissed him deeply and dragged herself away from him with every molecule of her body protesting.

As she was walking away she said, "I bet you have a thing for Eartha Kitt and Halle Berry, too, Batman."

He laughed loudly, "I hope you mean Eartha Kitt while she was _Catwoman _and not Eatha Kitt when she was old enough to be my grandmother."

"You'll never know." He threw a pillow at her as she chuckled and walked into the bathroom to shower and wake herself up for the day. She noticed he didn't say anything about Halle Berry and made a mental note to grill him about that.

****DBW****

Edward changed into basketball shorts, a t-shirt and sneakers and wrapped his hands for his boxing workout. He grabbed one of the elastic bands that Isabella gave him off of his nightstand and tied his hair back. As he trotted downstairs, he thought about how different his life was now and how much more meaningful it seemed to be just in a matter of two weeks.

He walked into his office and looked online for a small kitchen table and a few chairs. He saw a nice set at a store Alice always ordered from and scheduled it to be delivered the next Tuesday. Enrique was probably already in the gym so he ran upstairs quickly and told Bella he was leaving. He walked into the room to see his Isabella wet from the shower in only a towel and he had to leave quickly before he forgot why the hell they were both up that early. She laughed as he moaned and quickly exited the room to head to the gym.

When he walked in, it was pretty deserted with the exception of one or two people who were early risers that liked to get their workouts out of the way. He saw Enrique cleaning off the gym equipment and rearranging the mats on the floor. He jumped into the ring and starting wiping down the floor on his hands and knees. Edward really loved him and how hard he worked when he really didn't have to. He did it for love and that made Enrique family to him. Edward was getting excited because he hadn't worked out with him in years and he thought maybe he would do him the honor of sparring with him.

"Good morning, old man. You need any help?"

"Well, look who dragged his ass out of bed and decided to work out this morning. Did Bella get mad at you and put you on punishment or something?"

Edward blushed but decided turnabout was fair play.

"So Rick, how did your date with Carmen go? Did Amanda have fun?" He leaned over the ropes of the ring with an impish grin on his face.

He started chuckling because Enrique was turning red again.

"Yes, Amanda had fun and it wasn't a date. It was an outing."

"Mmmhmmm…How was breakfast?"

Enrique swung at him and fortunately Edward was still fast enough to get out of his way.

"I'm just sayin'. My aunt is a good cook."

They joked around a little then Edward picked up a jump rope to warm up for five or ten minutes. His routine always started with a warm-up and deep stretches. He wasn't a teenager anymore so it was even more important now to make sure he was limber and warm to prevent injury.

Enrique let him get started without interrupting him. He took physical fitness very seriously and was glad to see Edward in the gym and was hoping he would see him at least four times a week. He wasn't an expert but he thought many of Edward's panic attacks could be controlled through exercising out some of his anxiety.

As Edward was winding down his warm-up and stretch, Enrique asked him if he wanted to spar with him for old times' sake. Edward smiled big and nodded like the little boy he remembered. He and Ben really were like the sons he never had since he and his wife couldn't have kids.

"Rick, seriously man, take it easy. I have to go to Amanda's birthday party tomorrow and I can't go with a concussion and loopy."

Enrique laughed as he put on his head gear and gloves.

"I'll take it easy on you young-un. I just want to get your heart rate up and make sure you live until a ripe old age like me."

Edward smiled,

"You're not old, Rick. I mess with you all of the time but you're still a spring chicken. Are you coming to the party tomorrow? Mae Mae said we're gonna have a grown folks party after the kids' party. You know Aunt Carmen will be there." Enrique could see his eyebrows wagging under his helmet and laughed.

"Damn, EJ, you don't know anything about being subtle, do you?"

"Nope. Life's too short, Rick. Subtlety is for those who don't know how fragile life is."

Enrique smiled, reached up and patted him on the head with his glove. Edward had about four inches on his height of 5'9". It made him really sad that Edward was already so familiar with death and loss but when he really thought about it, he had been to war and was married, with a middle-weight championship belt, by the time he was Edward's age. It dawned on him by looking at the youth in Edward's face how young he was then and how fast time goes by.

"Of course I'm coming to the party. Amanda invited me herself. I wouldn't miss it for the world. That one is a little living doll. Let's go, young-un. Maybe I can knock some youthful optimism back into your head."

Edward stood in the defensive position that Enrique showed him so many years ago and put his hands up.

"Alright, remember you still hit like a damn sledge hammer."

Enrique laughed and they began their workout.

"Aww, you can take it. Hands up. Let's go! Ding. Ding."

****DBW****

He was prone on the floor of the ring breathing heavily and sweating profusely after forty-five minutes. Enrique stood over him laughing and sweating just as heavily. He offered Edward a hand up but he put his hand up indicating he needed five more minutes.

"EJ, I'm proud of you. Most people can't do the entire forty-five minute workout after they've been away for a while."

Between labored breaths he said, "I feel like I'm about to die and you're proud of me? Where is the love, Rick?"

"I do love you. That's why I worked you out so hard. You still have the fastest hands I've ever worked with, EJ. It's a shame you didn't go pro."

Edward waved his hands at him with some difficulty due to his fatigue.

"Yeah, if people wanted to watch a fight featuring me running away really fast from one good punch, I would've been the man."

Enrique laughed, "You've never given yourself enough credit. You hit pretty damn hard and you're accurate. You remember Benji never volunteered to spar with you. I know he wanted you to believe it was because of your age difference but don't you believe it."

Edward laughed at the memory of Ben waving him off when he would ask him to spar.

"Yeah? You know he'll be in town tonight?"

"Carmen told me."

Edward lifted up on his elbows and smiled big.

"Oh, she did, did she?"

Enrique reached out his hand to help Edward up.

"Get your nosey ass up and go get ready for work."

Edward gave Enrique a fist bump.

"Rick, I don't want to get all mushy this early in the morning but I think Uncle Richard would be glad to see you two together. I don't think you should feel guilty or anything. I hope that's not what's stopping you."

Enrique looked at Edward for a few moments and then he started to speak very sincerely,

"I hope you're right, EJ, because I really do care for her and Benji."

Edward made sure he put some distance between himself and Enrique before he said,

"Yeah well, you should get a move on it because you aren't getting any younger, old man. You're already punch drunk and I can hear the metal in your replacement hip squeaking. You need to put some oil on that thing, Tin Man."

Enrique jumped out the ring to chase Edward but he reached the door that leads to his loft just in time to not get beat down.

****DBW***

When Edward walked into the loft music was playing loudly throughout the house. Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" was on. He walked into the kitchen area and saw the funniest and sexiest sight he had ever seen. Bella was wearing one of his football jerseys and a pair of black cotton boy shorts with her "Kiss the Cook" apron on. She had her iPod in his iHome station. She was wearing black Converse and had her hair was piled on top of her head in a bun; tendrils were falling around her face haphazardly. She was whipping eggs to the beat of the song and shaking her hips from side to side. As she put the bowl down, she picked up a wooden spoon and started singing into it like it was a microphone.

He just leaned against the wall with a big grin on his face and watched her hips move. Then she put down her spoon microphone and strutted across the floor to the convection oven and put a pan filled with water in the bottom. When she turned around to strut back over to the island she saw Edward, jumped and screamed.

"Holy shit! You scared the crap out of me!"

He was laughing and clapping at her performance.

"Can you show me that strut one more time, baby? Encore! Encore! Why don't I ever have my camera phone when I need it?"

Bella turned beet red and started laughing.

"You're not supposed to sneak up on people like that, especially when they're cooking, jerk."

He walked up to her slowly and she backed up sucking her bottom lip in her mouth until she backed into the counter. He had his hands behind his back. Bella was getting a little wary. Usually, this meant he wanted to tickle-torture her and she would probably knock everything in her path to the floor trying to get away from him.

"What are you up to, pretty man?"

"I Belong to You" by Lenny Kravitz came on and he smiled down at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Edward? What do you have behind your back? I'm not afraid to use this." She picked up an egg beater and pointed it at him

He bent down and captured her lips with his and she dropped the egg beater back on the counter. He slowly licked her bottom lip and then her top lip. Finally, he pushed his tongue into her mouth and they both moaned and their tongues danced slowly over each other.

He pulled back from her and examined her face. She was flushed pink from her cheeks down to her neck and she was breathing hard making her chest rise and fall rhythmically. She had her arms and one of her legs wrapped around him and he could smell her strawberry scent along with the vanilla and lemon flavoring from the cake. She looked like his own little dessert cake that he really wanted to bite into but he had to get ready for work and make some calls.

He said softly against her lips, "I don't have anything behind my back. I was just trying to keep my hands to myself because you're so fucking irresistible. Plus, I stink. Rick tried to kill me."

"Wow! You're such a cornball sometimes. You don't stink but you do taste salty and you smell like hot chocolate." She smooched his chin and smacked her lips like she had just eaten something tasty and squeezed him around the waist.

He chuckled, "You must really love me, baby, because I really do stink. I can't even stand myself. I need a shower, stat and you know you like it when I'm all corny and mushy."

She pinched his bottom and rubbed her hands over the tattoo on the small of his back, "You know I do. You need some help with that shower?" She kissed him right over his heart.

He hugged her close to him picking her up off the ground and groaned into her neck, "Isabella, unless you want to burn your sister's cake and miss another day of work, I think that's a bad idea."

"I don't need to make two cakes! I'll only make one and I'll be really careful." She gave him the Bambi eyes.

He laughed and grasped her chin so he could look in her eyes, "We have all day tomorrow to be together, my love."

She pouted, "I know but we'll be doing responsible adult stuff and we won't have time for smooches and sexy times."

"Yes we will. We just have to be sneaky and crafty. That could be kind of fun. There are lots of places to hide at my parents' house." He wiggled his eyebrows and she laughed with her face buried in the crook of his neck.

"Really? Well that gives me something extra to look forward to besides watching Amanda open her gifts." She kissed him softly while standing on her tiptoes. The electricity from her kiss went straight from his lips down to his fingertips and toes making him shudder.

They finally let each other go and Edward reluctantly went to get ready for his day. As he walked up the stairs, he wondered if there was a patch for kiss addiction. If there was, he would have to wear one on Saturday. Isabella and Alice were going to be staying in Naperville until they returned from Dwight.

****DBW****

The first part of the day had gone by pretty quickly. When Edward came out of his shower and dropped his towel, he was surprised by the fact that Bella was sitting on the bed smiling. He jumped at first and felt a little embarrassed and then he followed her eyes to what she was staring at with that bottom lip in her mouth and his entire body responded to the lust in her eyes.

"I just thought you'd like to know how it feels to be surprised." She was leaning back on her elbows and gave him the come hither finger, so he had to comply. He was only flesh and blood. At least the cake didn't burn.

Edward and Jasper had both decided that Bella showing up for work at the diner was pointless now that the _Night Stalker_ knew she was being watched as closely as ever. Going to work on Thursday was just ending out the work week the way they said they would, since resources had been devoted to them from the department for that period of time. Alice gave Bella some _Cars_ cookie cutters and cupcake pans. Bella was planning on making the cupcakes that night and the cookies the following morning so they would be fresh.

Edward spent a part of the evening recording his lullaby for Amanda to put on CD but his plan was to play it live on the baby grand piano there after she blew out the candles on her cake. Bella would come and sit next to him and give him kisses and feed him pieces of the cupcakes every time he took a break. He was definitely glad he had worked out that morning.

Bella's gift to her sister was to buy her a few classic books. Amanda could already read at a fifth grade level so she bought her _Little Women, Treasure Island, and Gulliver's Travels. _Of course there were things in those books she wouldn't understand until she was older but that's the thrill of reading great books. She can read them at different points in her life and get a whole new meaning and understanding from them. Bella knew that everyone else was going to bombard her with clothes and toys so she wasn't really concerned about buying her those types of things. She had called a moving company that morning to have all of their clothes packed up in her apartment and moved over to Edward's loft which made her extremely nervous because she didn't know how long she would be there and how quickly she would have to move again.

Another thing she was concerned with was fitting all of Amanda's things in the closet in the guest room. He said she could put some of her things in the closet in Emily's room or he could put them in the storage space he had next to the music room. Bella didn't have that many things and Edward had plenty of room for her clothes closet that was relatively small but would be big enough for the two of them. He wasn't a really big shopper either so he was able to give her half of his closet and a whole chest of drawers.

She was having a little bit of an internal debate about how much he was willing to give up to have them there. She had even overheard him talking to his mother about zoning and adding another floor to his loft. She didn't want him to go through all of that just for her and Amanda. Bella still really couldn't believe anyone loved her enough to put up with all of her baggage on the one hand. On the other hand, she really swooned every time she heard him make arrangements for her and Amanda and include them in his future plans.

He walked into the kitchen while she was in the middle of making her last batch of cupcakes and wrapped his arms around her waist. He had on a dashiki with loose fitting jeans that rode low on his hips and a black knit beanie on his head. After she put the cupcakes in the oven, he pulled her out of the kitchen and set her in his lap in his favorite chair.

"You've been on your feet all day, baby. Aren't you tired?" He was massaging her calves and her shins and giving her little butterfly kisses on her neck and collarbone.

She hummed and nodded, sinking into his chest, snuggling closer to him and reveling in his affection and warmth. She finally blurted out,

"Edward, I don't want to leave here when this is over. I want to stay here with you and Amanda forever." Then her eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth. She couldn't believe she let that fly out of her mouth. He wasn't even singing or hypnotizing her with his eyes at the time so she had no excuse. She was mentally slapping herself repeatedly when he reached up and took her hands down from her mouth and wiped away the tears that she didn't even realize were falling.

"You've been crying a lot lately, baby. I hate that. I want you to be happy." He frowned at her.

"Edward, I'm happier than I've been in a long time. I think I'm just PMSing. I don't seem to have a filter sometimes and just blurt shit out." He waved her off like it was no big deal.

"What do you want to do with your building? Now that Angela's married, I'm assuming she'll be staying in Naperville with Ben, unless they decide to move. You could always rent out the apartments or maybe Ben would be interested in buying the building from you. They could convert it into a duplex and he'd be close to the lake. He doesn't have to live in Naperville to work there."

She stared at him with her mouth agape.

"So, it doesn't scare you one bit that I just blurted out that I want to stay here with my soon to be six-year old sister forever?"

He smiled at her, buried his face in her neck and shook his head no. She giggled because his beard tickled and she started kicking her legs. Then he perked up with his eyes twinkling.

"Maybe we can convert your place into a single family home and we could just stay here until it's done. We'd have plenty of room then. It would already have four bedrooms and four baths and we could even add an office for you and a little gym." He was grinning from ear to ear and she couldn't help but smile.

"That would be a complicated complete remodel and it would take years probably." He shrugged like he didn't see the problem.

"What if you get sick of me in the middle of it all?" He shook his head at her.

"Sick of you? I don't think so, puddin'. Just keep those cupcakes coming and sitting these cupcakes on my lap and I'm a happy man." He pinched her bottom and she squealed and wiggled off of his lap to go and check on the cupcakes but he stopped her.

"Seriously, Isabella, I love you. I'm in love with you. That's not temporary." She turned around and looked at the depth of sincerity in his eyes.

"How do you do that?" She asked in earnest.

"How do I do what?" He looked really confused but reached out to her to grab hold of her hands.

"How do you say such sweet things without any hesitation or nervousness?"

He was really worried about why she seemed so surprised when he treated her well. He got up to walk with her to the kitchen. He watched her take out the cupcakes and began frosting them.

"Can I help, baby?"

She nodded and showed him how to place the rounded bottom in the cupcake holders and how to frost the top part of the cake.

"Isabella, why is it so surprising when I say nice things to you? What type of relationships have you had? We've only talked about that Robert Stefani ass."

She hesitated because she didn't know if it was a good idea to be a kitchen full of potential weapons with Edward's temper when she talked about another bad relationship. She didn't think he would hurt her for a second. However, his temper could cause him to destroy all the work she had done that day for Amanda's party.

"I only had two boyfriends before him, David and Shaun. David Ortiz was a sweet guy I met in Arizona when I was seventeen and in my senior year. We dated for half of my senior year and the summer before I left for Seattle. We had both just graduated from high school and he worked at the library where I practically lived. He was one of the few friends I had there and he was the first guy I was with…sexually. There were no real problems except for the fact that he was going away to NYU to school and I was moving to Seattle."

Edward didn't realize he was squeezing the cupcake he was holding so hard until it fell apart in his hands and he had to apologize and throw it away.

"We don't have to talk about this now, Edward." She helped dry off his hands with a towel she was holding after he washed the crumbs and icing away

"No, we can talk about this now. I'm sorry about the cupcake." He sat down in the stool and picked up another cupcake but Bella stopped him and said that she'd do it.

"Did he treat you…was it…was your first time good?" He winced while he was asking it because he really wanted to know. However, he really didn't want to hear how good or how bad her experience was with another man. He didn't want to think about her with another man at all. Nevertheless, he needed to know why being treated well was so foreign to her.

She looked at him sympathetically because she could see the struggle he was having with this conversation.

"No." She laughed. "It wasn't good. It wasn't horrible either. It hurt like hell and I didn't want to have sex ever again afterward. He really wasn't experienced either. I think he had been with one other girl."

He looked a combination of relieved, jealous and curious.

"Were you in love with him?"

Bella stopped working and sat next to him at one of the stools.

"I loved him. Like I said, he was a good friend and one of the few I had. I was awkward, clumsy and shy. I was also about thirty pounds heavier. He never made me feel self-conscious about it, though. I know now that I wasn't _in love_ with him. If I had been, I would've followed him to New York when he asked me to. When I told him I couldn't see myself there, he was disappointed but it didn't break him down and he didn't push me. He was really excited about leaving. It was just a teenage romance, short and sweet." She shrugged.

Edward was glad to hear that this guy treated her well even though he was having fantasies about erasing his memory, like in that movie _Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. _He didn't want anybody else knowing what his Isabella was like in bed. He was fully aware of how ridiculous his thoughts were but that didn't stop him having them. Then he was snapped out of his reverie by Isabella's warm hands on his cheeks.

"What's going on in that head of yours? It was a long time ago, Edward. I haven't heard from David since I was seventeen years old."

He cleared his throat, "I know, puddin'. I was just thinking that I wish I had known you then."

She snorted through her laughter and put her hand up to her mouth which made him smile.

"So, you're trying to say that you weren't just sitting there thinking of ways to contact David and interrogate him?"

His eyes got big and then he started laughing loudly.

"I _may_ have been thinking of ways to tamper with his memory but don't change the subject. What about the other guy, Sam, or something?"

She sighed and shook her head, "No, his name wasn't Sam. It was Shaun, Shaun Brady." She looked down with a morose look on her face.

He lifted up her chin to make her look at him.

"Was Shaun good to you?"

She shook her head no and his blood immediately started to boil.

"Well, at first he was. I met him at the bakery where I worked when I moved to Seattle."

Edward got up and got her a Corona and handed it to her while he sipped on a Heineken. She was glad for the alcohol and was hoping it would give her some courage to tell her story.

"Everybody used to say I was cute for a chubby girl but I never really went out on dates. Angela would try to set me up but I didn't like feeling like a charity case. So, I went out on one just to appease her and it was a disaster. I kept refusing when Ang would try to set anything else up."

Edward squeezed her knee trying to reassure her because she had a very dejected tone to her voice.

"Are you gonna be able to talk about this or should we wait until another time?"

She smiled at him.

"No, I'm fine. Anyway, a few of us at the bakery used to hang out after work. We would go to this bar that was across the street and just relax, laugh and shoot pool or whatever. Shaun and I would always end up hanging out separately from the group talking and laughing. He asked me out and even though he wasn't really my type; he was short and a little on the skinny side but I thought he was an okay guy, so I said okay."

Edward leaned against the island waiting for her to finish.

"We went out a few times and the dates were always nice but it was always just the two of us. He had met Angela but I hadn't met any of his friends or family. I didn't have Amanda at the time."

Edward interrupted,

"So, you were still a teenager and you were going to bars?"

"Yes, father. I was eighteen and he was twenty-one. In fact, most of the people I hung with were older so nobody carded me when I went in. I probably looked older because of my weight or something. I don't know."

"Isabella, even if you were thirty pounds heavier, you would still be beautiful and any man would be lucky as hell to be with you."

Bella looked at his face to see if he was being facetious.

"Edward, you say that now but I'm not so sure you would be here with me if I was still that big."

He looked at her incredulously.

"Okay, we'll talk about that nonsense later. I'll let you finish."

"Well, over a course of a few months, we became intimate. The first time was okay I guess but afterwards it just got worse."

"Worse how?" Edward asked with a tinge of anger to his voice.

"Well, he would make little snide comments about my weight and how he preferred the lights off and little things like that. I wasn't really enjoying myself either. He was quick, to be honest, and I felt like I didn't even have to be there for him to finish. I just figured if we could get past the sex, we could have an okay relationship, otherwise. At first, that's how it was. The sex was horrible but everything else was good. We kept hanging out after work like we always did. Then I started to wonder why he hadn't introduced me to any of the friends he hung out with outside of work or any of his family. He told me that it was too soon for that and he wanted it to just be us."

"Did you love him?"

She laughed, "No, definitely not. I thought I could grow to love him but I knew what we had wasn't love. I was lonely and he showed me attention I wasn't used to getting. Also, going out with him got Angela off my back about not dating. Anyway, his snide remarks got to be more blatant over time. He would watch what I was eating and make comments about how much fat or calories were in it. He would look at other girls and comment that if I had a butt like that or my stomach was flat, I would be hot."

"So, if you didn't love him, he insulted you and he was bad in bed, why did you stay with him?"

"I didn't think I could do any better. My self-esteem wasn't too high."

"Isabella, you had already done better. You had a guy who treated you well before."

"David was different. He was overweight too and he came from a culture where a little weight on a woman was seen as a good thing. I wasn't naïve enough to think I was going to find that everywhere I went."

Edward huffed out, "Baby, there is so much more to you than the way you look. What about how selfless you are? Or, how smart and funny you are? I can't imagine somebody being around your kindness and your heart for more than five minutes without falling completely in love with you."

Alice had told Edward what that doctor told her about her current weight. He didn't know what BMI chart that doctor was using. She's definitely at the right weight for her height. Some doctors should have their medical licenses snatched. It made him angry that her self-esteem seemed to have taken a big hit because of it and what her idiot boyfriend said to her. Even at 150 pounds, she would've been only ten pounds overweight.

She smiled big and hugged him so hard that he had to struggle to breathe but he didn't care at all. When she pulled back from him her eyes were a little teary. He wiped them away with a napkin.

"Well, I guess he couldn't see all of that. Maybe I wasn't the same person I am now. I think I'm different now that I have Amanda, more patient maybe. Anyway, he started to be really abusive towards me verbally in public and making comments about the food I ordered and flirting with other women. I finally told him that if I was so fat that he was ashamed to bring me around his friends and family and he thought he could do better, he should. I was fed up and told him to lose my number."

"Did he?" Edward knew that abusers rarely changed so he was pretty certain of what she was about to say.

"No. He begged me to stay with him and he apologized. To make a long story short, I stayed with him and when I finally met his friends they seemed nice enough but I guess they razzed him about being with me later. We got into a pretty big argument about it the next day and he became abusive again. I told him that if he could last longer than a few minutes, I might be able to burn some calories. Well, as you can imagine, he got pretty angry and he slapped me. He pushed me against the wall and walked out."

"What the fuck, Isabella? This is the second time you're telling me somebody put their hands on you. That's bullshit!" His eyes looked angry and concerned simultaneously.

"I know. I told Angela about it and she had a couple of guys she knows go and "talk to him." He never touched me again. In fact, he didn't even come back to the job."

He looked at her surprised, "What kind of _friends_ does Angela have?"

"They're actually her cousins and they're both pretty big. One of them is a cop in Seattle now. The other is a professional body builder."

He smiled, "I can't wait to meet them and say thanks."

Bella laughed.

"They ripped me a new one about me letting somebody treat me that way. Marquez, the one that's a cop now, signed me up for a self-defense class. That's why I was able to fight back when Robert pushed me against that wall."

Edward nodded in understanding.

"I decided after Shaun that I was going to take a break from men until I started to feel better about myself. I focused on work. I wrote and I worked out. Then I found out about my mother's pregnancy and I ended up with Amanda. Running around after the baby helped me drop a few pounds, too. I couldn't work at the time because of Amanda's lung problems. Then I got the book deal, moved to Chicago and now you're in my life. So, I must be doing something right."

She grinned and he tenderly caressed her cheek.

"How could a person treat somebody so precious so carelessly?"

She sighed, "I'm so glad I met you, Edward."

"I'm glad you took those self-defense classes."

She laughed and said,

"Yeah, me too."

"Baby, when I compliment you, I'm not just talking out of my ass. I really adore you. As far as me not loving you if you gained weight, you can get that notion out of your head. When I think about my future I think about you and Amanda. I even imagine kids." He looked down sheepishly.

"I don't know if that's something you want but if you ever do become pregnant, you are definitely going to gain weight. Do you think for one second that I wouldn't love you or I wouldn't want you if you were pregnant with my child or if you just picked up a little weight in general?"

She shrugged and sucked her bottom lip into her mouth.

"Let me ask you this. If I were heavier or if I started to bald, would you love me less?" He seemed anxious and she wanted to make sure he never felt that way again regarding her feelings for him. She looked at him and tried to imagine him with a pot belly and balding and then she giggled.

"Nope. I think I would love you even more." She kissed him softly and he looked relieved and happy.

"Well, why do you think I would love you any less?"

"Edward, men are more visually stimulated than women. If I'm not attractive to you anymore, I would be worried. I'm sure if you had a pot belly and were bald you could still pull a twenty-something year old woman and she'd be proud to be on your arm. Women don't have it like that, baby."

He shook his head.

"Well, you don't have to worry about me not being attracted to you, puddin', or straying. Just trust me. Of course I would want you to be as healthy as possible so you can live a long life but I like a woman that enjoys life and that includes good food. It irritates me when women don't eat and pick over food. You have a healthy appetite, in more ways than one. You have a beautiful curvy feminine body. More curves is a good thing, a damn good thing." He grinned at her and she blushed .

"I can't believe how bashful you still are around me sometimes." He squeezed her to him and she climbed into his lap.

She still got butterflies in her stomach when she looked into his eyes. She didn't think that was ever going to stop and he was so sweet sometimes it was unreal. She had no doubt in her mind that he was the perfect man for her.

"Edward, I think about kids, too, and you when I think about my future."

"For real?" His face lit up with excitement.

She looked at him like he was crazy, "Of course I do but when I think about it, I imagine us married." She rushed out the next part without really looking at him. "If I didn't have Amanda, I probably wouldn't care about being married but I care now. Does that make sense?

He flashed that smile that makes her body melt.

He stood up and threw her over his shoulder.

"We should go get started on the babies now. Procrastination is a terrible habit."

She was slapping his backside.

"Put me down, Fred Flinstone. I said after marriage and I have to finish icing these cupcakes."

He bit her bottom and she squealed.

"I have to ice my cupcakes first. Then you can finish. There's nothing wrong with practice. Practice makes perfect." He smacked her on the bottom while she laughed at him.

As soon as they reached the top step, the doorbell buzzed.

****DBW****

Edward put Bella down, whimpered and looked down the stairs.

"Maybe they'll go away."

"Edward, the only people that know how to get up here are your family, Jasper, and Enrique. If that's your family, you know they have a key."

The word "key" wasn't even out of Bella's mouth completely when they heard the door opening.

Edward growled and looked at Bella longingly.

"Don't. Move. An Inch. I will be right back."

He ran down the stairs to see who it was and Bella heard the chime-like tones of Alice's voice float up the stairs.

"Edward, I'm not going anywhere. You two have all night to hump like rabbits. I need to check on things for the party tomorrow."

"Alice, I will buy you anything you want, price is not an issue, if you come back in an hour."

Bella started walking down the stairs because she knew Alice wasn't budging.

"No, dear brother. I'm here and when I leave I'm not coming back, horn dog, so be patient. Hey, Bella!"

He turned around with a scowl and walked up to her to prevent her from coming all the way down the stairs.

"Baby, I asked you to stay upstairs. If you didn't come down, I would have a bargaining chip."

She laughed and patted his cheek.

"It won't take that long to talk to Ali and get the details on the party."

He hung his head low in defeat and moved aside so she could walk all the way down. Then her phone rang. He threw his hands up in the air and went and sat on the couch.

****DBW****

She looked at the caller I.D. and anxiously answered the phone,

"Hey, Ang. Is everything okay with the flight?"

"_Bella! I'm in Chicago. I'm at the apartment."_

Bella screamed,

"Come on over! Uh oh, wait!" She turned to look at Edward and he had turned on the TV and was nodding yes before he caught her eyes. She squealed and ran over to him to kiss his cheek. He smiled despite himself and went in the kitchen with his sister.

"Come on over! When you get to the gym, ask for Enrique Gonzales."

"_Ben wants to drop me off and go visit his mom. Holy shit! I get to meet Enrique Gonzales in person? He's like a father to Ben."_

Bella laughed.

"I know. Don't be scared. He's really sweet. Hurry up! I can't wait to see you."

"_I'm walking out the door now."_

Bella hopped over to the door waiting for the buzzer to buzz. Edward walked up behind her and hugged her to him.

"Did I hear you say Angela is coming alone?"

"Yeah, Ben is going to his mother's after he drops her off."

He scoffed and went to get his keys and picked up his cell phone.

"I'll be right back, baby. Don't let anybody in. I'm going down to get them both."

She was standing by the door bouncing from foot to foot and Alice came behind her and poked her in the side.

"Alice! Don't scare me like that! I'm already on edge."

Alice smirked.

"Yeah, I heard."

Bella hit her on the arm and called her a cockblocker. Alice laughed sinisterly and started pulling Bella towards the kitchen.

"A watched door never opens." Bella rolled her eyes at her.

"If Angela's meeting Enrique for the first time and Edward's grabbing Ben and making him come in, they're gonna be a while. Come and talk to me, lady."

"Alice, where's Amanda?" She thought about the fact that if she's at Shirley's, she's there alone with Jasper and she didn't know how good he was with kids.

"She's in Evanston. She and Emily are joined at the hip. Those two are going to be little heart breakers one day."

"Have you been reading to her or flopping her down in front of the TV?"

"A little of both, General Swan." She saluted Bella while giving her the finger.

Bella gasped and laughed, "Well, I guess I'm part of the family now."

Alice smiled big, "Of course you are, goofy. The cupcakes look good. Where are the cakes?"

Bella looked at her wide-eyed, "Cakes?"

Alice's whole face changed and she looked at her anxiously, "Yes, cakes. You know the _Cars_ cakes we've been talking about all this week."

Bella slapped her forehead, "Oh shit! I forgot! Do you think I can make them now?"

Alice looked at her with her mouth hanging open.

"Bella! How could you forget about the cakes? Those were the most important things! I have to call a bakery now and see if they can get something together at the last minute. I have to get you away from Edward when I ask you to do something. That butt-head distracted you with his trouble-making dick all week!"

Bella fell out laughing.

"Alice, calm down! I made the cakes. What do you think I am, new or something? They're at the restaurant in the cake cooler. They couldn't fit in Edward's fridge I bought a _Baskin-Robbins_ ice cream cake, too. It just says, '_Happy Birthday, Manda Bear!'_ It's really simple. It's in there if you want to look at it."

Alice punched Bella in the arm.

"Ow, midget! Your little fist hurts! Don't you ever punch me like that again or I'll have to body slam you, Rock style." Bella jumped at her like she was going to attack.

"Pfft. Like you could. I ain't scared of you. Tanya might be now but not me."

Bella grimaced,

"You heard about that, huh?"

"Edward may have mentioned that you ran into her at the store and had a little altercation. I'm so proud of you." She wiped away fake tears. "Mama Alice has taught you well." She put her arm around Bella's shoulders and hugged her in a maternal way.

Bella shrugged her off.

"Whatever, little one. Shirley's letting me drive her catering truck to Naperville with the cakes and everything else so they'll stay chilled."

"Don't change the subject. Did you get in her face? Did you swing on her and then get pulled away or what?" Alice was punching her little fists in the air like a boxer.

"Alice, you are truly touched in the head. Nobody hit anybody."

Alice looked crestfallen and then she perked up,

"Well, we might get another chance to jump her. If she shows up at this birthday party, we got your back."

"What do you mean? How would she even know about it?"

Alice gave her a 'duh' look that put Amanda's to shame.

"Hello! How does she find out about any of our parties? She's a stalker. She does whatever stalkers do to get information."

"Do you really think she'll show up at a kid's birthday party?"

"It's possible, unfortunately." Alice had Bella sit down.

"I hope that restraining order is in place as of today."

"Pfft. Like that'll stop a stalker. Don't worry about it. Emmett's security will be there and you both will be surrounded by people that love you. I feel sorry for her if she shows up." She was still shadow-boxing.

Bella smiled sincerely at Alice. The Cullens did treat her and her sister with love and like they were family. She was truly grateful for Alice taking time out of her schedule to plan this party for Amanda. If she had planned it before she met them, it would've have been a small cake, a barbecue with hot dogs and burgers and just a couple of kids from her school. Alice was making this really special for her baby sister. She walked over and hugged Alice with a vice-like grip.

"Thanks Alice, for all you're doing. Amanda's going to feel so special tomorrow."

Alice hugged her back just as tightly.

"No problem. I had fun planning it. This is what I do. I hope you don't mind that Emmett invited a few of the players that have young kids around Amanda's age."

Bella winced, "It's not going to be too big is it?"

"No! I know you didn't want that. Besides Amanda, Emily, Nessie, Quill, and Sharon, her friend from school, there will be five other kids. That's not too much is it? Ten kids all together."

Bella smiled big and gave her the thumbs up.

"That's perfect."

"It's gonna be real casual. Amanda didn't want costumes and things. She wants to be a big girl this time. So it's just casual dress, jeans and a t-shirt or whatever suits the weather. It's going to be clear tomorrow and warm in the afternoon but cool at night. The party starts at two in the afternoon. It should be done by seven or eight and then we're having a grown folks party. Emmett's friends aren't staying. Mom and Dad are going to take the girls to Evanston for a sleep over so we can have our party in peace."

Bella pouted, "My Manda Bear is leaving me again?"

Alice put her hand on Bella's shoulder, "Trust me. This'll be the last time for a while. I love her to death but Amanda is a handful and she sleeps like a whirling dervish. It's time for big sis to take over momma duties again."

Just then they heard the door opening and they both squealed and ran towards it.

****DBW****

When Edward opened the door he saw two bouncing and clapping little people squealing and then he heard squeals coming from behind him and moved out of the way out of fear. Angela ran in the door and nearly bowled down Bella and Alice. Ben and Edward were laughing watching the scene before them. They were both marveling at how any one of them could understand what the other was saying. They were all talking over each other, crying, laughing and hugging each other while hopping around in a circle holding on to each other.

Edward and Ben gently moved the circle out of the doorway so they could shut the door. Then, Bella and Alice finally realized Ben was standing there and they came over and hugged him at the same time almost knocking him over. Angela was laughing and wiping tears from her eyes.

"Where's my Manda Bear?" Angela asked while spinning around looking for her.

"She's in Evanston at Rose's and Emmett's, Mrs. Nelson." Bella said with a big grin and Ben smiled. Angela's eyes widened and then she screamed again and Bella ran over looking at her wedding ring.

Her engagement ring was a two carat, pear-shaped yellow diamond with a platinum band which nestled into the wedding band by way of a small V-shaped groove that held the diamond at the bottom. It looked beautiful against Angela's brown skin. If she took her engagement ring off and turned the band so that the "V" was on the underside of her finger, it would look like a solid platinum wedding band. Ben's wedding band was platinum with yellow diamonds encrusted around the entire band.

"So, Benji, did you pick this puppy out all on your own? It's really breathtaking." Alice asked a little awestruck.

Ben laughed,

"I picked it out myself, short stuff. I did good?"

"You did!" All three of the ladies yelled at the same time. Then they all laughed and yelled, "Jinx!" That was apparently their cue to all walk over to the living area and sit down on the couch at the same time.

Edward laughed because his Isabella wasn't very girly like Mae Mae. It was kind of nice to see her excited about Angela being there and her ring. He wondered if she would feel the same about his ring.

Ben patted him on the shoulder.

"You got somethin' to drink up in this mothafucka? I'm thirsty as hell."

Edward chuckled because, married or not, Ben was going to always be Ben. This was a fact that he was very happy about. Ben was loud and sociable but he was really a home-body. He loved family and Edward mused that it shouldn't have surprised him at all that he would be the one to marry so quickly.

Edward handed him a Heineken and he grabbed a Guinness. He held up his bottle after they both popped the tops and Ben smiled and clinked their bottles.

"To you and Angela. May you have a long and fruitful union."

Ben nodded and said,

"Amen."

They sat in companionable silence as they swigged their beers and listened to the girls laugh and talk like they hadn't seen each other in years instead of weeks. Alice had just met Angela and they couldn't fathom when the two women had become so chummy. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"Women." They said in unison and then they both laughed.

"Should we yell 'jinx,'?" Ben asked in a high-pitched voice to mock the girls.

"Cut it out, dawg. They missed each other. Let them do what they do. So, what's going on, cuz. You didn't get enough to drink on the plane?"

Edward asked with a knowing smirk. He already knew what Ben and Angela were doing on that plane. Judging by the state of his clothes and Angela's perfume all over him.

Ben laughed, "Don't get started with me, EJ. You looked grouchy as hell when you came downstairs. Did Ali come over unannounced and interrupt your groove?"

Edward sucked his teeth and set his beer down.

"You would think little Ms. Cleo in there would use her powers for good instead of evil."

Ben laughed, "I knew it! You gave her the key. You only have yourself to blame."

"Well, sometimes the elf is of good use and I guess I love her a little."

Ben chuckled and they were silent for a while until Ben interrupted.

"Angie told me about the ring. I didn't think you kept it." He smiled at his baby cousin.

Edward motioned with his head for Ben to follow him. Ben got up and grabbed a couple more beers and followed him out. They walked into his office and closed the door. Edward pulled out the ring and showed it to him.

"This is beautiful, EJ. I saw a picture of it in that email you sent but seeing it in person is different. Two fucking swans with their necks wrapped around each other. That is unbelievable man. It's like the ring was made for her or some shit." Ben pulled the ring out of the black velvet box and looked it over more closely.

"I don't even have to get the ring adjusted. She wears a size six ring and this is size six."

"That's freaky as hell, cuz. I thought there was an engraving on it." Ben squinted his eyes and bought it close to his face to see if he was missing something

"There was but mom, Esme, had it smoothed over a few years ago. I figure we can pick out the wedding bands together, if she says yes."

Ben handed it back to him.

"Sounds good. So, when are you going to pop the question? By the way, that's a nice dashiki, cuz."

"Thanks. It was my dad's, Edward Sr. I don't know, man. I'm asking Jacob for his blessing tomorrow but I'm a little worried. I know he wants me to see a therapist about my panic attacks. What if he says he doesn't think it's a good idea until I go see somebody?"

Ben put his beer down and really looked at his cousin.

"Look, I get that it's important to you to do things the traditional way but that woman in there is your woman. If Jacob doesn't give his blessing, just move the hell on and ask her to marry you anyway. I agree that you should talk to somebody about how you panic and I know J. Black is your doctor and everything but come the fuck on, dawg. Don't let anything he says stop you."

"I don't know, cuz. They're important to each other and he's more than my doctor. He's my friend and he knows both of us very well."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but he lost touch with Bella when she was a teenager right?"

Edward nodded his agreement.

"So, he knows the girl, Bella, very well. You know the woman, Isabella, better than anybody. The only person that could compete with you there is Angie and she says you two seem perfect for each other. So, perform this ritual with Jacob, if you feel you have to but don't let anything stop you from making Isabella your wife." Edward nodded and leaned forward on his desk thinking about what Ben was saying.

"I've known you your whole life and you have a good sense of humor but, overall, you're a moody little shit. You've always sulked." Edward laughed and flicked a paper clip at him.

"See! You could've put my eye out with that shit right there." They laughed and flicked paper clips back and forth like they were ten until Ben interrupted.

"Seriously, ever since the day you met Bella something in you shifted. You look like you've slept. You look less anxious than I've ever seen you look. Your ass looks happy, E. If you let anything stop you from being as happy as you are right now, I'm gonna kick your ass and hook the little princess up with somebody that's not scared of happiness." Edward gave him the finger but was seriously considering what he just sad.

"You think I'm scared to be happy?"

"Only you know that for sure. What I do know for sure is that you've been unhappy for a long time. Maybe you're just used to it and feeling differently is making you nervous."

They looked at each other.

"Ben, every now and again you say something very insightful and it surprises the hell out of me."

"Fuck you, man. I'm deep."

They both cracked up laughing.

"So, you haven't heard from the _Night Stalker_ lately?"

"Nope. That's what's really making me nervous. That mofo used to call me on the regular. Now…nothing."

"I guess your pretty hazel-greens don't do it for him anymore." Ben batted his eyes at his cousin.

Edward rolled his eyes at his cousin.

"Shit. I wish that was the case. I know he's just waiting to pounce. Jasper took over the case over a week ago. He hasn't gotten one call from him." He lightly pounded his fist on the desk.

"What about this Victoria lady that's supposed to be a specialist?"

"Jasper is meeting with her now to see if she can trace who sent this video of what happened at the grocery store to Captain Morris via email"

"So, you trust her now?"

"Yeah, she's _Laurent's_ sister-in-law." He started chuckling and Ben looked at him like he was crazy.

"Who the fuck is Laurent?"

"Laurent is Captain Morris' first name. Get this, cuz, he told me that he knew a judge that could fast track my order of protection against Tanya's crazy ass. I get an email first thing this morning with the order attached to it from Judge Irina _Morris_. He asked his wife to sign off on it."

"You finally did something about that Tanya bullshit. I heard Angie talking to Bella. I wish I could've seen her tussle with her in the middle of the fucking grocery store. That shit must've been priceless. So, when did you and your captain get so chummy."

"'_Tussle?'_ Sometimes I forget you're an old ass man. I have it on my desk top but I'm not showing that shit to anybody. I'm not exactly proud that shit happened and they didn't actually resort to fisticuffs, Methuselah. I just recently found out Morris doesn't hate me as much as I thought he did."

"I would hate your punk ass if you were running around mocking me. I can barely stand you and you're my blood. You're lucky you're cute like a damn puppy or nobody would be able to stand you." Ben pinched Edward's cheeks and he slapped his hands away.

"I'm not cute, you ass. I'm manly and rugged. Why can't people get that shit straight? You should really stop frontin'. You know you love me." Ben nodded and laughed.

They were still talking about the _Night Stalker_ case and joking around when they heard a knock at the door. Edward gestured for Ben to get the door and he said no because he's the guest. Edward sighed and kicked Ben's chair as he walked past and Ben slapped him on the back of the neck before he opened the door.

****DBW****

Edward opened the door rubbing his neck and Angela and Bella were leaning against opposite sides of the door jamb. Bella was holding two cases of beer and Angela was holding four cupcakes. Edward smiled.

"Ben, have you ever seen a more beautiful sight in your life?"

He laughed, "No, I don't think I have. It's the little princess and the love of my life bearing gifts."

Bella and Angela laughed and walked into the office after Edward took both cases of beer out of Bella's hands. Edward looked behind them and then he walked out and looked towards the couches.

"Where's Mae Mae?"

"Jasper called. They're meeting for dinner." Bella answered while sitting in his office chair. He set the cases of beer down, walked over and flipped over the cork board with the pictures of the _Night Stalker's_ victims on it.

Angela was sitting in Ben's lap in one of the leather armchairs and they were whispering to each other and kissing intermittently. Bella was smiling at them and Edward winked at Bella.

"Hey! Break it up and get a room! What do you think this is, a motel?" They both scowled at him and kicked at him as he walked past. Bella laughed.

"Next time just put him in a head lock. It works for Rose." Edward gazed at Bella with mock disappointment.

"You're supposed to be on my side." He bent down and kissed her on her neck and she shuddered from the electricity that shot through her body.

"I am when you're not being a pest, Toot…"

"Hey! Don't even call me that in front of that man right there." He put his hand over Bella's mouth and she was shaking with laughter. "I'll never live that shit down."

Fortunately, Ben didn't hear what Bella said because his attention was back on Angela. They were feeding each other a cupcake. It they weren't so happy for them, they would've gagged on the sweetness.

Edward cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, newlyweds. Where are you staying while you're here?"

Angela answered without looking away from Ben.

"At his place in Naperville so we won't be too far from your parents' house or Bolingbrook."

Ben said, "Angie, it's _our_ place in Naperville."

She smiled bashfully, "Oh yeah. I keep forgetting."

Bella and Edward both rolled their eyes and started gagging.

"Awww man! I won't need to add sugar to anything for about two years." Edward made a disgusted face.

Angela calmly got off of Ben's lap, walked over and took a pillow off the love seat and started beating Edward and Bella with it.

"Get 'em, baby! Get 'em! They both got a lot of nerve talking about us."

Bella yelled, "Uncle! I'm sorry! So sensitive!"

Edward was laughing and shielding his face from Angela's blows.

"Angela, this violence leads to nowhere fast!"

"Both of you can just shut up! I can only imagine what Alice almost walked in on earlier." Angela huffed out between blows.

They sat and talked in the living area after Edward put the beers back in the refrigerator because, frankly, thinking about the combination made his stomach churn.

"So, are you two leaving Saturday or Sunday?" Bella asked while sitting on the couch with her feet on Edward's lap.

Ben looked a little nervous about what he was going to say.

"Uhmmm…We decided we're not going back. Angela needs to get back to work and I need to wrap up a few things on my end."

Edward sat up a little and Bella removed her feet from his lap.

"Come again?"

Angela spoke up, "We're not going back to Seattle. It's killing us not being here for you all and we can't put our lives on hold for this man indefinitely. We're staying."

Bella was counting down in her head how long it was going to take for Edward's head to explode.

He leaned back against the back of the couch and closed his eyes tightly and it looked like he was taking deep breaths. Ben got up and sat on the other side of Edward.

"E, don't worry about us. I'm resigning from Naperville and going back to school next year. I think I want to teach. Meanwhile, I'll hire security for Angela and you know I'll guard her with my life. Focus on Amanda and the little princess. We'll be fine."

Edward's eyes shot open.

"You're quitting the force, Ben? When did you decide this?"

"We've been talking it over and Angela is a lot more passionate about her career than I am about mine and she's just getting started. If we want kids, somebody's going to have to be home for a big part of the day. I don't need this job, man. I always wanted to be a cop. I've done it. Now, I have a new dream." He smiled at Angela and she blushed. "I can go to school part-time while she goes to work and tries to get a position where she doesn't travel as much. It just makes sense to us."

"You won't be bored?"

Edward was really shocked at how easily he decided to quit his job. Ben had a multi-million dollar trust from Shirley, as well. He took everything from his father's insurance and Shirley's trust and invested it wisely. He wasn't even hit that hard by the downturn. He didn't have to work a day in his life if he didn't want to but he had always been so busy between the military, school and his career. He couldn't imagine his cousin not working.

"I'll be busy man. Until you and Jasper catch this guy, I'll be busy protecting my Angie and we want to remodel the house so that it feels like both of ours. I can oversee that with Esme if she has time to do it. Plus, if Bella let's me, I can babysit Amanda while she goes back to work. I think I'm the only one that hasn't spent any time with her. I'll be in school soon. I'll be alright. We'll be alright. Besides, I have a feeling we have a couple of weddings coming up soon. That'll keep all of us busy." He wiggled his eyebrows at Edward who widened his eyes at him.

Bella spoke up, "Yeah, we have to plan a wedding for you two and we think Jasper's going to propose to Alice soon."

Ben smiled at Bella and added, "I think my mom might be getting married too. Rick pulled me to the side and talked to me for a minute while we were down there. He was nervous as hell. I thought it was kind of funny him asking for my permission to see my mom considering he can kill me with one punch and he knows I love him like a father anyway. Rick is old school. He's not gonna just date my mom casually without marrying her." He leaned in to Edward and said, "That's probably where you get that shit from." Edward punched him and he laughed.

"Damn,E! That shit hurts! Hit me like that again and there will be consequences and repercussions."

Edward was about to hit him again and Angela interrupted, "Okay boys, that's enough! Edward, you go sit over there. Ben, come here." They separated looking thoroughly chastised. Bella giggled and snorted at the same time. Angela was going to be a great mom one day.

****DBW****

After they kissed and hugged Ben and Angela goodbye, Bella kissed his hands softly.

"You handled that really well, sweetie."

"What?" He was genuinely confused.

"You didn't blow a gasket when Ben and Angela said they were staying."

He shrugged, "Well, what can I do? They had already made up their minds."

She beamed proudly at him.

Edward grinned at Bella salaciously and she backed away smiling.

"Sooo, what were we doing before we were so rudely interrupted." He put his hand to his chin like he was really trying to recall.

"You were saying something about cupcakes and icing but that opportunity has passed. The cupcakes have cooled. No dessert for you, detective."

She tried to run away from him but he was too fast. He grabbed her and picked her up again throwing her over his shoulder.

"I think I can warm them up." She howled with laughter and he ran her up the stairs to what he considered to be their bedroom.

****DBW****

_**I broke this part of the story down into three chapters so it would be more palatable.**_

_**A/N: I have recs:**_

_**Everything by SexyLexiCullen (http: / www. Fanfiction . net/u/2001183/SexyLexiCullen), especially:**_

_**Quiet Storm: This story's characters are unapologetically and unrelentingly gritty. The dialogue is excellent and the story is very captivating. Trust me. You won't want to put it down. **_

_**Summary: **__**"Two weeks. Two years. Who cares?" A lesson in love, crime, and passion. When two young lovers find themselves in the middle of the storm, can love conquer all? **_

_**http: / www . fanfiction . net/s/6575026/1/ Quiet_Storm**_


	25. Chapter 25

**_This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this._**

**_All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended._**

**I realize now I completely messed up on Alice's age. I'm such a ninny sometimes. Alice is 28 (as far as we know now), Emmett is 29 and so is Rose. Edward is 31, Ben is 35 and Jasper is 38. So, there's only a ten year age difference between Jasper and Alice. Bella and Angela are 25 and Bella will be 26 in September.**

_**A/N: I want to thank Aniseed and Humble4, my beta and pre-reader, respectively, for taking time out of their schedules, no matter what's going on in their own lives, and looking over this little story. Well, I won't ramble. Here we go.**_

**Chapter 25 – Amanda's Birthday Party**

When Bella awoke the next morning, Edward was wrapped around her like she had become accustomed to. They had made love all night and she was exhausted but excited about the day at the same time. He had been talking in his sleep about beaches and bikinis and she couldn't help giggling with her hand over her mouth. He was snoring now and she was plugging his nose to stop him and laughing quietly. It was six in the morning and she wanted to get the cakes out to Naperville before Rose brought Amanda over.

"Edward, sweetie, I have to get up and go over to Shirley's."

He grumbled no and held her closer to him. She laughed and tickled his sides.

"Stop, puddin'. I don't want to get out of bed with you, yet. Give me twenty more minutes of snuggles."

She rolled over and blew a raspberry on his cheek.

"Awww, Isabella! Okay, ten more minutes." He wrapped her back up in his arms.

"No, snuggle monster. Get out of bed! You were supposed to work out this morning anyway."

He groaned, turned his head and smiled at her, "I did work out this morning." He smooched her neck and she giggled kicking her legs.

"Well, I have to give you that. You must've burned some calories. I know I did." She blushed as he hovered over her.

"Yes you did." He kissed her pulling her tongue into his mouth. They slowly shared a heated kiss that started to progress to something more until Bella pulled back.

"Nuh-uh! I have to get everything out to Naperville before Amanda shows up at one o'clock. She pinched his bottom and he scowled and rolled off of her letting her get up." She softly kissed his pout.

"I'm sorry, honey buns. It takes me longer to be pretty than you. I have to get started now."

He scoffed.

"You're pretty right now. If that's what you're worried about, we can sleep another hour or two." He huffed and put his arm over his eyes. She stifled a laugh because she had such an easy time imagining what he was like as a child.

"Nope. I gotta get up and so do you. You have to go with me to Shirley's and be my little helper."

He laughed.

"Never call a grown man your 'little' helper, baby. That's right up there with calling me Tootsie Roll in public. We have to nip that shit in the bud."

She laughed and straddled his lap and kissed his chin.

"Now, you know there's nothing little about your Tootsie Roll. Don't be so insecure. Get up!"

"Okay, task master. I'm at your disposal until nine, then I'm gonna get my hair cut in the city. You want to roll with me or are you staying in Naperville to help Alice get everything ready?"

"Nah. I'll let you go and I'll stay with Alice. I haven't seen my Manda Bear all week. I can't wait to see her! She's six today!" She rolled out of bed taking the sheet with her and picked up her cell phone. Edward smiled because he knew she was calling Alice this early to wake Amanda up and wish her a happy birthday. That was excellent payback for showing up without calling yesterday.

He jumped out of bed, ran over and yanked the sheet off of Bella and she gasped. He snickered and let his eyes roam over her body. She was growling at him and trying to cover up. He uncrossed her arms, got on his knees and kissed her from her belly button up to her chin. He picked up the shirt he inherited from his father that he wore the day before and pulled it over her head. She smiled at him and pulled her arms through as she was talking to Alice. He kissed her sweetly before he jumped in the shower.

****DBW****

Edward was excited to give Amanda her gift and he hoped she would like it. He had seriously considered giving it to her when she came home and giving her a _Dora the Explorer_ DVD at the party. However, he decided that this would be more special. He wrapped the CD himself despite Rose's admonition. He wasn't the best gift-wrapper but it was from his heart and he didn't think a six-year old would care that much about aesthetics. He had the sheet music laminated and put into a large picture frame for her and he wrapped that, too. He figured they could hang it together in her room wherever she wanted it to be. His music sheets were in a leather portfolio. He was hoping one day to teach her piano like both of his mothers had done for him, however, he didn't want her to feel pressured to learn or anything. He just wanted to share the things he loved most with Amanda because she was one of the people he loved most. He really couldn't wait to see her either. It felt like it had been months instead of a few days since he saw her last.

They left out for Naperville at half past seven in the morning. Bella drove his grandmother's refrigerated catering truck with two sheet cakes and one ice cream cake in the back, especially for Amanda. Edward followed Bella out there because he was leaving to go back into the city.

When they arrived at the house, Edward helped Bella unload and set up the sheet cakes on the cake stands with heavy plastic lids over them. One had _'Mater'_ on it and the other had _'Lightning McQueen.' _She was planning to make _'Lighting McQueen'_ shaped cookies that morning. Both characters were on top of her the cream cake as decoration for her to take home.

Bella and Edward were really amazed at what Alice was able to pull off. When they first pulled up to the house there was a huge _'Lightning McQueen'_ balloon hanging over the gate wall and there were checkered flags on either side of the gate. As they pulled into the driveway, there were 'Happy Birthday' balloons in every tree that led up to the front door. It had a banner on it that covered the entire door with the _Cars_ characters that said, "Happy 6th Birthday Amanda!"

When they walked in the door, they felt like it was their birthday. Everything looked so festive! There was another happy birthday banner over the doors that led to the backyard deck. There were six or seven wooden benches, painted red and blue and arranged so that they looked like stadium seating. There was a race track around the two gift tables and she had huge cardboard cutouts of the characters set up in front of the covered pool. There were red and blue streamers everywhere and there was _a 'Lightning McQueen'_ piñata hanging by one of the branches on a nearby tree.

In the foyer, there was a table full of party favors in little denim knap sacks and a stack of _'Thank You'_ notes all ready to be signed and mailed out. Bella picked them up still in a little bit of a daze. The dining room table was set up buffet style not far from the French doors that led to the deck and it contained _Cars _table cloth, napkins, cups, and plates.

There was a huge dirigible tent-like structure that looked like a tumbling mat and a giant movie screen set up to play the movie right by the stadium seating. Bella broke down and cried. She was wondering why someone would go through so much trouble for someone they just met and how in the world Alice had the time to do all of this. She also wondered if Amanda was going to remember all of this. She had to take lots of pictures!

"What's wrong, puddin'? Is this too much? We tried to tell Mae Mae not to go overboard."

Her vision was blurry through her tears and all she could say was, "Edward, where is Alice?"

He looked really worried and wiped away her tears, "She's probably in her office. Do you want me to go get see if she's here?"

She sobbed, "No! I have to go!" She ran down the hall with Edward on her heels really worried about what was about to happen. Isabella burst into Alice's bedroom door without knocking. She ran through the bathroom to the back where her office was and saw that Alice was on the phone. When she saw Bella her eyes widened and she immediately ended the call.

"Bella! What happened? Edward! What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything! I mean, I don't think I did anything." He looked at Isabella to see if he had any part in her current state.

She ran around Alice's desk and tackled her into a hug. Alice fell backwards with her and she gave her a smack of a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you so much, Alice! Why didn't you ask me to help you? I could've helped with the seats out there or something. All I did was bake the stupid cakes and stuff. How did you do all of this?"

Alice and Edward were laughing, "Crazy lady, can I get up now?"

Bella looked at Alice wide-eyed because she was already dressed for work and had just been knocked onto the floor with a silk shirt on. She helped her up and started brushing off her skirt and blouse.

"I'm so sorry, Alice. I'll get your outfit dry-cleaned. In fact, how much was all of this? I need to pay you for this. You would've charged someone else a lot of money for an event like this! Bella was looking around for her purse to get out her checkbook."

"Isabella Marie Swan, if you even think one more second about writing out a check for this, I'm gonna take you down old school _Hulk Hogan_ style. This was nothing. I had a lot of help and I can use that stadium seating again for another event I'm planning. So, you helped me out. I'm done with that early. "

Edward was just sitting in one of the office chairs smiling at two of his favorite people thanking God that he wasn't the cause of her crying and that they were happy tears.

They were silent for a second and then Bella tackled her again in a tight hug but this time they didn't fall.

"You are the best! I love you so much for going through all of this trouble."

Alice was chuckling and patting the back of her head like one would do for an out of control kid,

"It was no trouble at all, Bella. I love you and Amanda. We all do. You have given me and this entire family so much more than these little party decorations."

Bella looked at her confused because she couldn't recall giving her anything. Alice had given her clothes and the whole family had taken her sister under their wings and made her feel special. Now Alice had done all of this for free, voluntarily and with no complaints. Alice continued.

"You see that big-head man over there?" Bella smiled and turned to look at Edward who was pretending to be offended and mumbling,

"_It's not that big."_

"He is the happiest I've ever seen him and I've known him all of my conscious life. I was worried that he would be the only one of us alone because he couldn't seem to find anyone special enough for him. Then you and Amanda came along and I have a brother that's lit up from the inside with love. I should really be paying you back for what you've done for us. The few things I've done don't nearly cover that." Alice winked at her and they both turned and looked at Edward. He had quickly wiped his face and jumped up.

"Okay. It's too early in the morning for the sap that's going on here. I gotta head out, baby."

He walked over and kissed Bella softly and hugged her whispering his love for her in her ear. He pulled Alice into a bone-crushing hug and gave her a noogie, which she angrily tried to slap away.

"Thanks, my Mae Mae. I love you, doll."

"You're such a jerk! I just did my hair. Now I have to go and fix it! Get going! You're starting to look like Bob Marley again."

He laughed and started singing "I Shot the Sheriff" as he walked out of the door back into the main part of the house.

As he was walking out the front door, Jacob was coming in. He was surprised to see him this early. They bumped fists and did the manly shoulder bump one-armed hug.

"What's up, Doc? Why are you here this early?"

He had a look of sheer exasperation on his face, "E, my family is driving me bonkers. The twins and Seth are there. They are running around with the kids and the dog is barking. Leah is ordering me around like a damn drill sergeant. I snuck out. I was gonna go to my office but that's the first place they'll look for me. Is there anything I can do to help around here?"

Edward laughed and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Come roll with me into the city. I have some things I want to talk to you about."

Jacob looked like he had gotten a reprieve. Edward laughed at him wondering if he would feel that way if he had a big family with Isabella. He smiled thinking about having kids with her big brown eyes and brown hair driving him crazy on a regular basis. Adding a dog to that mix seemed insane but he knew that's exactly what he wanted.

****DBW****

I-55 was a parking lot at this time of day but the consolation was that he would have plenty of time to talk to Jacob about Isabella and the ride back would be post rush hour and relatively quick.

"Where are we going, Edward?"

"There's this weed spot I hit on Cottage Grove but it's kind of shady over there so I wanted somebody with me that could have my back."

Jacob widened his eyes and looked at the car handle on the passenger side like he was going to roll out of the car and run for his life.

"Dude, we're driving right by my condo. Just let me out and we can pretend you didn't tell me about the weed spot."

Edward tried to look serious.

"J, you've been my boy for about five years now. You wouldn't have my back in a tight spot?"

Jacob looked at him with his mouth hanging open and Edward couldn't hold in his laughter anymore.

"Doc, you should've seen your face! I'm not taking you to a damn weed spot. Except for the shit you prescribe for me, I don't do drugs. Beside, the dealers in the city know my face and that I'm a cop from my work with Vice when I first started. I'd never even be able to get close enough to a weed spot to get anything. I'm going to get my hair cut on 79th and Cottage Grove. Although it can be kind of shady over there, we're relatively safe." He punched him in the shoulder and laughed so hard his shoulders were shaking.

"Man! Don't play with me like that. I almost had a heart attack and I'm in pretty good health for my age, you ass."

They were quiet for a while as Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan sang "Don't Explain" off of Herbie Hancock's _Possibilities_ CD.

"By the way, I would."

Edward gave him a questioning look.

"Have your back. I would have your back in a tight spot but not if you're doing some stupid self-destructive shit."

Edward snickered at him.

"I already know that. I was just fucking with you, dawg. You've been there every time I've called. What? You think I have amnesia?"

Jacob laughed, "Something is wrong with your ass. Amnesia might explain a lot."

Edward laughed and refocused on driving. He started rocking and humming along as he listened to Diane Schur and B.B. King sing, "Try a Little Tenderness."

"Okay, unless you're trying to woo me, you need to change this music to something a little less romantic, E."

Edward stopped humming and smiled.

"Well, you did slip me that mickey once. I don't know what transpired but I think I'm pregnant, Jacob."

Jacob started laughing.

"Whose baby is that? I always wear Jimmys when I get down. Do we need to go on _Maury_ and get a paternity test done?"

Edward gasped and feigned heartache,

"How could you deny our love?"

Jacob snickered, "All right, man. Let's cut this shit out. It's getting too real."

"Yeah, you're right. I think my ankles might be swelling."

"You're a sick man, Edward. What did you want to talk to me about for real?"

Edward had changed the music to "Get By" by Talib Kwalei.

They were both bobbing their heads to the beat when Edward blurted out,

"I want to marry, Isabella."

Jacob's head stop bobbing and he looked at him with a shocked look on his face.

"What? Didn't you just start dating?"

Edward's nods to the beat became more exaggerated as he was answering Jacob's question.

"Yeah, we just started dating but this is not…our thing is different, J. She's the one. I don't have to draw this out to find out if she's it for me. I already know that and I'm pretty sure she feels the same way, too."

"How do you know?" Jacob looked genuinely curious.

"Well, she told me she never wants to leave but she doesn't want to just shack up with me because of Amanda. So, what I'm hearing is she wants to marry me as badly as I want to marry her."

They were both quiet as they inched along the expressway.

"Our little Swan told you she never wants to leave? That's deep, Edward. Bella has pretty much been on her own since she was a kid. Don't get me wrong, her parents loved her. It's just that her mom was young and a little scatterbrained, God rest her soul. Her dad was gone a lot because of work. She did everything for herself, except when she was with her Grandma Swan or us. It's amazing that she trusts you enough to let you know she needs you around. Does that make sense?"

Edward nodded and turned the volume down as "Morris Brown" by OutKast came on. Just as he was about to start talking Jacob interrupted,

"Turn that shit back up! I'm a married man with kids that listen to Justin Bieber all damn day. Don't make me hurt you!"

Edward held up his hands like he was being held up.

"Alright, man. I'm not making any sudden moves. I'm turning the volume back up. Just chill."

Jacob laughed and he laid his head back on the headrest and sighed like he was getting water after a long walk in the desert.

"I think the last concert I went to was an _Outkast_ concert. I went with Seth, I think. Man, I miss the days when we could just go out without having to hire a babysitter and a dog sitter. Then, we have to pray I don't get called in on an emergency. Don't get me wrong. I love my life but I'm glad you asked me to ride with you."

Edward chuckled and Jacob continued.

"You sure you're ready for that."

Edward answered without hesitation. "Hell yeah! I've been to concerts, I've traveled, had a career, played music, written music and you know what?"

Jacob looked at him with raised eyebrows waiting for him to continue.

"I'd trade all that for just one of the days I've had with Isabella."

Jacob grinned.

"Damn you're whipped. I don't want to envision that shit but Bells must be putting it on you."

Edward laughed but didn't answer.

Jacob laughed, "Your silence says it all, man. It was like that with Leah, too. Shit! It still is but things are different now. We both have careers that take up a lot of time and when we're not working, we're with the kids. You're right though. I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Edward really examined his face and asked, "For real?"

"For real." He looked completely sincere.

"So, I'm glad you're telling me all of this but why are you telling me and not Bella?"

Edwards hands tightened on the wheel and he realized he was only halfway to his exit after twenty-five minutes had already passed.

"Well, I wanted to do things the traditional way and ask for her hand in marriage. Angela suggested that since Charlie and your dad have passed that you would be the next logical choice."

"Angela?" He looked confused.

"She's Isabella's best friend. I guess she told her all about your family and the reservation."

He nodded his understanding.

"So, she didn't think her step-father would be a better choice?"

"Do you think her step-father would be a better choice?"

Jacob scowled.

"I think if I get my hands on him I might have to break my Hippocratic Oath and do some harm."

Edward completely agreed as Jacob continued his rant.

"I was that dude's biggest fan until a week ago, dammit."

"So, what do you think? Do we have your blessing, J?"

Jacob smiled at him.

"You want approval from the man you were just about to take to the weed spot?"

Edward laughed.

"Come on, man."

"Seriously, Edward, you don't need my blessing. Bella loves you and me not giving or giving my approval is not going to stop her from marrying you if you asked."

"I'm not asking because of that man. I just…"

Jacob waited patiently until he couldn't stand it anymore. They were on Lake Shore Drive going south and still had a ways to go before they headed east to Cottage Grove.

"It's just what, Edward? Spit it out."

"I just want to preface what I'm about to say with the fact that I love my aunt and uncle to death. They are the best parents that an orphan could ever ask for but that's what I am, an orphan. I missed out on a regular childhood because of my parents being taken away from me so early. Isabella missed out too, from what you and she have told me."

Jacob's face lit up with understanding but Edward finished his thoughts.

"Now Amanda is going through the same thing I did but her father is alive and he's just trifling. It doesn't make any difference, though. He's not there. She doesn't even really know what a father is. I'm the closest thing she has to one and I really want to be a dad to her and a good one, too. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I want at least one thing between Isabella and me to be normal-traditional; you know what I'm saying? It's a little thing but it's big at the same time, at least for me it is."

"Edward, of course you have my blessing. I can't give you Bella's hand because I didn't ever have it." He chuckled a little. "Still, you both have my blessing with one caveat."

Edward winced a little and waited for Jacob to continue.

"You have to go and talk to somebody about your anxiety. It's not as bad as it used to be. It seems like Bells is good at keeping you calm and you look happier than I've ever seen you, too."

This was the third or fourth person that had told him that. He even remembered thinking that to himself one day when he looked in the mirror.

"I'm also not saying to wait until you talk to a therapist to ask her to marry you. I'm saying for your own sanity, well for the sake of the little sanity that you have, please go and talk to someone. Otherwise, you'll be going into this relationship with much more baggage than necessary. Trust me. You'll have enough to deal with. You don't need extra."

"I hear you, J. I'll go and see somebody because I do have some things I need to talk out. Thanks, man. I'll show you the ring before I ask her to marry me."

"You already picked it out? You know Bella doesn't give a damn about a diamond. In fact, she thinks it's stupid for people to pay that much money for a 'shiny rock,' her wording, not my own."

Edward laughed because he already knew that about his Isabella. She was happy Angela had a ring she liked and seemed happy. Nevertheless, she had no interest in the carats, the clarity and all that other stuff Alice would go on and on about.

"Nah. It's a Platt heirloom. It's all silver."

Jacob looked pensive.

"Edward is it okay if I give Bella something that I think my dad would've wanted her to have, after you ask her of course?"

Edward answered without hesitation, "Please do! What is it?"

"It's a totem of sorts, a Quileute symbol. It's a hand-carved wooden wolf - nothing fancy. We think of her as a part of us and this will be a protection from us for both of you."

Edward smiled warmly at Jacob.

"She'll love that."

They had finally pulled up to the barber shop/salon/spa and parallel parked in front of it. This place was really a gem in this neighborhood. It was simply called, "The Wright Place." It had a double meaning and was very corny but it worked. The shop was actually owned, before his death, by the father of an ex-girlfriend, Erica Wright, who had become an opera singer. Her sister, Aisha, owned it now. Edward had been patronizing this shop since he was eighteen years old.

When he walked in all the hairdressers and barbers nodded at him and smiled. There were three lock stylists/specialists there because the shop specialized in natural chemical-free hairstyles. However, he only had his locks cut, twisted and styled by Aisha. If she wasn't there, he left and came back another day. He would probably cut them off when she decided to retire or sell the shop. She was the only one he trusted with his hair.

There were several female customers and some men ogling Edward and Jacob. They were used to Edward but Jacob was new. The ladies were whispering and smiling flirtatiously.

Jacob cleared his throat and leaned in to speak lowly to Edward,

"Why do I feel like I'm a single t-bone in a den full of lions?"

Edward snapped his fingers and said lowly with a smirk,

"That's what I forgot."

Jacob looked confused.

"The A-1 steak sauce."

He narrowed his eyes at Edward.

"Maybe I should take that blessing back I just gave."

Edward laughed sinisterly.

"I didn't need your blessing, silly man. It was all a clever ruse to get you here. I was paid handsomely by the ladies to bring fresh meat."

Jacob rolled his eyes and sat down on one of the leather settees that actually looked like it was a child's seat in comparison to Jacob's large frame. He was about a half a foot taller than Edward and fifty pounds heavier. He was a giant.

"Well, you have to explain to Leah why I didn't make it back."

"Are you kidding? Why do you think they ran you out of there? It was her idea to offer you up as a sacrifice."

Edward smiled at the receptionist and she became bashful, not able to meet Edward's eyes. Aisha was in her office and she had to be called to let her know her appointment was there. The receptionist looked grateful that she had something to occupy her hands and eyes.

Jacob chuckled.

"Come sit down, man. Remember you're having my baby. I don't want these ladies staring at the goods."

Edward looked at him sideways and the receptionist gasped as though what Jacob said was possible, which made both of them laugh loudly. He winked at her.

"Don't worry. He's really not my type and we're just kidding around."

Jacob threw a wadded up advertisement at him and a familiar voice brought him out of his mischief.

"Leave my niece alone, EJ!" Danica, there are two customers at the shampoo bowls waiting for you. I'll watch the desk."

She scurried away and Edward gasped.

"That's little Danica? She's gotten so big! How old is she now?"

"She just turned sixteen." She smiled big and walked around the counter and whispered towards Edward.

"She's had a crush on you since she was twelve, you ass."

He sighed and marveled at how fast kids grow up. She was always the cutest little girl. He didn't mean to make little Danica nervous and surely didn't realize she had a crush on him.

"Erica, this must be that glow that everyone talks about when women are pregnant. You look beautiful! What in the hell are you doing in town? I thought you were in Europe?" He gingerly wrapped his arms around her pregnant waist and gave her a hug.

She puffed out her cheeks and rubbed her stomach,

"Yeah, it's that glow you get from standing in front of the microwave heating up greasy food. I wanted to deliver in the U.S. so I came home. I'm gonna drop this bad boy any day now. I'm not even supposed to be on my feet now. I'm done touring for at least six months."

Jacob jumped up and offered his arm for her to hold onto as he walked her over to sit on the settee he had occupied. She smiled and took it while raising her eyebrows at Edward.

"I see some men haven't forgotten their manners. You are?"

"I'm Jacob Black, Edward's doctor. As you probably already know, he's not well…in the head."

They both started laughing raucously and Edward couldn't help but join in.

"Okay. We have a couple of comedians over here. Jacob this is my good friend, Erica Williams. We go way back. Erica, Jacob is like my brother from another mother." They shook hands and Jacob sat in the adjacent leather chair that he just barely fit in.

Edward asked permission with his eyes to touch her belly and she smiled and nodded. To his surprise he felt a little kick and he looked up quickly.

"The baby kicked!"

She smiled tenderly at him. "He probably knows how goofy you are and wanted to knock some sense into your head."

He snorted out a chuckle. "So, Maurice is finally getting a boy?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

"How old are the girls now?" He sat down next to her.

"Lisa's eleven and Antoinette is nine."

"Wow! You're brood is growing, little mama. How many do you plan on having?"

Her eyes widened in fear, "This is it! This pregnancy was not planned. He's a blessing but I was planning on stopping at two kids. Maurice is getting snipped after this one."

Both Edward and Jacob winced and Erica rolled her eyes.

"Look, a vasectomy can't be as painful as pushing one of his big-head babies through my stretched out hoo-ha. He's just gonna have to suck it up."

Jacob winced again and said,

"That made me want to call my mother." Edward and Erica laughed. Edward knew that would require a séance, unfortunately. So, his declaration was particularly amusing to him.

She reached up and tugged on Edward's locks.

"They're getting long again. You know Aisha's not gonna want to cut them. She likes them long."

"What'd you say about me? I knew my ears were ringing for a reason."

Edward smiled and stood up to give Aisha a hug who in turn gave him a kiss on both cheeks. She was about ten years older than them and was dressed relatively casual today because she had a few customers. However, it wasn't uncommon to see Aisha in an old school Chanel suit with Manolo Blahniks adorning her feet. She was a business woman and had an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. She owned about six salon/spas throughout the city. This shop was special to her because it was her father's shop. Her other shops were very high end and catered to very prestigious clientele, from athletes to politicians. She had tried to get Edward to visit her at the downtown location but this shop had a homier feel to it.

Also, Edward didn't like hobnobbing with the rich and famous. They begged too much. He would rather give directly to a homeless shelter or serve at a soup kitchen than give those vultures a dime. They were paying hundreds of dollars more to get the same service they could get at the south side location because they didn't want to be "in the 'hood." He knew for a fact they would risk driving "in the 'hood" for drugs or prostitutes. He would rather bust them than get a manicure next to the hypocrites.

She smiled flirtatiously at Jacob and asked, "Well, what can we do for you handsome? I don't think I've seen you around here before."

Jacob blushed a little and introduced himself. Where Erica had a beautiful 'girl next door' quality, Aisha was exotically sexy. She had a dark-chocolate smooth complexion just like her sister. However, she was about six inches taller than Erica's height of five four. She had strikingly high cheekbones and a very long neck, with a generous mouth and the most alluring almond-shaped brown eyes. Erica told him they were a quarter Somalian, which accounted for the length of her sister's neck. Her straight natural black hair hung to the middle of her back. She carried herself with an air of confidence, intelligence and mystery that made most men stutter a little around her. They both spoke with subtle accents because their parents are Jamaican.

"Would you like a mani and pedi while you wait for EJ? It'll keep the ladies from attacking you." She slowly flashed her pearly whites and winked at him.

Jacob nodded wordlessly. Edward didn't even believe he knew what he had just agreed to. She motioned with her hand for him to stand up and she entwined her arm with his and guided him to the spa."

"I'll be right back, EJ. Go ahead and sit in my chair, sweetie."

"Ishie, put whatever Jacob's having done on my tab." He was one of the few customers that called her by her nickname. Aisha nodded and continued on her mission.

Aisha had a mean walk that made men stop and stare. She was going to be on her feet a great deal today but she still had on stiletto boots that showed off the curve of her calf and her apple bottom perfectly. Edward was very shy around her when they first met but she wouldn't let him be quiet around her. They had grown very close over the years. He had even told her about Isabella and she seemed very happy for him. She had been married but her husband had passed away from pancreatic cancer at a very young age. She told Edward she wasn't going to marry again because she didn't want to have to go through that type of pain and agony a second time.

He hadn't told Isabella about any of his female friends. He wondered if she would feel insecure about it. He hated to give up the sisters' friendship but he would for Isabella, although she didn't have anything to worry about.

Erica cleared her throat and pulled him out of his thoughts.

She gave him a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"I know you slept with my sister, that's what."

Edward's mouth fell open and he sat down.

"Uhmmm…"

"Don't 'uhmmm' me. I was really pissed at you until she told me that you consoled her after she lost Victor and things just kind of happened."

"Erica, I…she was crying and my heart broke. I didn't know what to do."

"Mmmhmm. Yeah, I know. You accidentally fell on her, your dick sprang free and it fucked her of its own accord. Come outside with me!" She whisper-yelled at him and pulled him outside so everyone couldn't hear their conversation.

Edward guided her to his car and settled her into the passenger seat and he went and sat on the driver side. As soon as he closed the door, Erica started in on him.

"I can't believe you! How do you think Isabella's going to feel about your relationship with Aisha? She's my sister and I love her but that bitch looks like Iman's doppelganger and she knows the effect she has on men. Do you think she wears fuck-me heels, tight jeans with a cat suit underneath for all her customers? I didn't even have to look at her appointment book. I knew you were coming in today when I saw her outfit. She was your first right?"

She shocked him again but he managed to answer.

"Yeah, she was but, Erica, we were already broken up. I didn't cheat on you with your sister and I wasn't trying to hurt you. I was still hurting from my uncle getting shot and we both needed comforting. You were already with Maurice. Plus, I don't have feelings for Aisha. Not like that. I do love her but I'm not in love with her. I have the same feelings for her as I have for you."

Erica looked at him and shook her head derisively.

"Edward, you never slept with me, man! What you and Aisha have is not the same as our relationship. You were still a virgin when we were dating! You won't let any other stylist touch your hair. You leave if she's not here. Up until about three years ago weren't you still messing around on occasion?"

"That was just…you know…friends with benefits."

He thought about how Erica was reacting after all of these years, her marriage, two kids and her swollen pregnant belly and his heart rate picked up. He had actually considering bringing Isabella with him to this appointment and introducing her to Aisha. He really was an idiot sometimes.

"Uh huh. I would whoop Maurice's ass if I found out he had the type of relationship with anybody that you do with Aisha. I'm going to give you this piece of advice and you better stop being clueless and listen up. If you love Isabella nearly as much as you claim to, you need to end this thing with my sister. Find a male barber that's in a committed relationship that'll line you up, dust off your shoulders and send your ass back home to your woman."

He was still caught completely off guard by this conversation. "She talked to you about Isabella?"

"Yes and she's jealous. She claims to be happy for you but the green glob is all over her face and I can't blame her. She's probably pissy right now because we're talking in private. My sister doesn't fuck around, EJ. Her husband was her first and there have maybe been two other men besides you. She is in love with you, even if you don't feel the same. You better wise up!"

As soon as "wise up" left her mouth, they both heard a tap on the passenger side window and they jumped. Edward turned on the car and rolled down the window. It was Aisha's daughter, Danica.

She still looked bashful but managed to get out,

"Mr. EJ, mom said get out of this car and come on inside so she can do your hair."

He chuckled nervously.

"Alright, tell her I'll be there in a minute."

She huffed, "Okay, but she said to tell you to come on in now."

Erica sighed, "Danica, you've delivered your message now go on back inside."

They both watched as she walked away and a couple of young guys hollered and whistled at her from their car as they passed. Erica and Edward growled in frustration at the passing car. Danica turned around and started to smile at the attention and Erica rolled down her window again.

"You're a dog? You respond to whistles now? Didn't I tell you to get your little fast ass in that shop? What part of that didn't you understand?"

Danica looked down again and huffed, "Yes, ma'am."

Edward chuckled, "Don't be like that. She seems like a good kid."

She chuckled, "Yeah, but she's sheltered. It'll only take one of these little smooth-talking knuckleheads to turn her head and we'll have a pregnant teen or worse on our hands. Do you know how fast HIV is spreading among black women? Don't get me started on how casual these kids are about oral sex. They do it like it's just kissing or something. I saw that news story. I'm trying to tell her about condoms and talk to her about sex but my sister still sees her little girl when she looks at her. So, she wants me to give her the "PG" sex talk. I told her she was crazy. She probably knows more than we do! I'm just trying to express to her how important it is not to get caught up and not let anybody talk her into not protecting herself. Worse yet, is her little crush on you. She seems to like older men. That shit is scary as hell."

"Come on, Erica. She's too shy to even look at me when she talks."

Erica looked at him and chuckled.

"You really are clueless. Aren't you a detective? Part of it is shyness and the other part is all the nasty shit that she wants to do with you that's running through that little hormonal teenage brain of hers. You need to stop winking at her and shit, with your pretty ass."

Edward actually blushed. Then he started to chuckle because his Isabella always called him "pretty man."

"Don't laugh! I can't bring you around any more women in my family. I already had to stop bringing you around my mother when we were dating. She was always going on and on about how handsome you were then."

He smiled at her, "Is that why you broke up with me? I was too pretty?"

She chuckled.

"No, EJ. I broke up with you because I fell in love with someone else and that wasn't fair to you. I liked you a lot. You're a really sweet loving man, Edward, when a person really gets to know you. I just didn't feel with you what I felt when I was around Maurice. I knew he was the one. It's probably the same way you feel for Isabella."

He understood that. If Maurice was to her what Isabella was to him, then he knew now she had no choice but to give in to her feelings. Edward looked past Erica out the passenger window and saw Aisha standing in the door with her arms crossed, tapping her foot.

"I better go on in. I hear you, Erica. I think you're right about me needing to end my relationship with Aisha." He felt a wave of loss wash over him. "I'm going to miss seeing you very much."

She smiled and patted his cheek.

"Of course I'm right but we'll still see each other. My husband and your brother are on the same team, remember? Unless Maurice gets traded, you're stuck with me, kid."

He smiled at her and scrunched his nose, "Oh yeah. I forgot about that."

She popped him on the back of the head.

"Yeah, you're not the sharpest knife in the drawer sometimes."

He laughed loudly.

"Well, I know I can always depend on you to tell me the truth."

She nodded and waited for him to come around, open the door for her and help her out of the car. Erica was really the first girl he dated that demanded and fully expected that he treat her with respect. She stood outside of doors until he remembered to open them for her and she stood in front of chairs until he pulled them out for her. She taught him well.

As he was helping her out of the car, she asked sweetly, "Let me see a picture of your Isabella, please."

He eagerly pulled out his phone and showed her his favorite picture.

"Awww! She's beautiful, Edward! Look at the adoration in those eyes! I can see she loves you back just from this picture." He smiled because that's why it was his favorite. She continued,

"She has a kind face. She reminds me of one of those Kardashian girls. Let me ask you this, though…You couldn't find any beautiful sistas to hook up with?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed, "Nope. We're fresh out of black women around my neighborhood." He said sarcastically. "This is not just curiosity, a hook-up or a fling, Erica. I'm going to marry her, if she'll have me."

She squeezed his arm apologetically.

"I'm sorry. It's just that you're a catch, EJ, and there aren't that many men out there like you, especially black men. I have a lot of single sista friends that would love to meet you but I see you two are in love so I'll leave you alone."

"I don't think that's really true. I have a lot of single male friends that are good men, including black men. Hell, Ben is an excellent catch and he was single up until a week ago. Where are your friends looking and why are they only looking for black men? Your friends should broaden their horizons and look for the _right_ men, no matter what race they are."

She shrugged her shoulders and leaned on his, as she waddled next to him with their arms intertwined.

"Some black women just love black men and want to marry a brotha. There's nothing wrong with holding out for that, in my opinion, but I hear what you're saying. I'm just so glad I'm not single. Even if that means I have to pee like a race horse every ten minutes."

Edward laughed loudly and then he stopped her before they opened the door.

"So let me get this straight, you would've hooked me up with one of your sistas, just not with your biological sister?"

"Hey, I'm trying not to be petty about you sleeping with my sister. I know I don't really have a right to be mad but that shit still stings. Don't push your luck. Wait a minute; Benji is married?"

He smiled and nodded.

"I'm gonna kick his ass! Why wasn't I invited to the wedding?" She looked really hurt.

"Nobody was. They got married in Vegas. I'll be sure to remind him to send you an invitation when they have their ceremony."

"You two have worked my nerves for a long time. I better get an invitation and to your wedding, too, or all hell is gonna break loose. You've seen _Kill Bill_, right?"

He laughed and reassured her she would get invitations to both as he walked into the salon towards a pissed off Aisha. He could see clearly now that Erica was right. He was definitely going to have to end their relationship.

She was still pouting as he sat in the chair and apologized for making her wait. Normally, Aisha made sure he got the works. She would give him a steam facial and moisturize his skin after she gave him an old school straight razor shave with heated shaving cream. Then, she would send him over to the spa area to get a manicure and a pedicure. However, in his new enlightened state, he thought he'd just get his hair washed, twisted and trimmed this time.

She had started setting him up for his facial and shave when he stopped her, by gently touching her hand. He didn't want a straight razor anywhere near this throat while he said what he had to say.

"Ishie, can I talk to you for a minute before you get started?"

She gave her sister the evil eye who just smiled smugly back at her. He guessed they had a pretty interesting discussion recently that left them both a little angry. He was very sad that it was about him.

She guided them back to her office and gestured for him to have a seat before she closed the door. She sat down in her office chair across from him instead of in the chair next to him.

He felt really bad about what he was going to do and he knew this was all his fault for being an emotionally myopic idiot.

"Why don't you come sit over here next to me?"

She sighed and looked down.

"No, I think I need some distance from you while you tell me you can't come here anymore." He could hear the sadness in her voice and her accent was a little stronger than usual.

He nodded his understanding.

"Apparently, I'm not too bright. I had no idea…Erica told me that…" He couldn't seem to get it out.

"Look, EJ, I'm a forty-one year old woman. I should know myself better than anybody and I knew I was developing feelings for you a long time ago. I just wasn't honest with myself or you about what they were. Being oblivious let me let you leave back out that door after we were together, I guess."

"Aisha, I can't keep coming here with our history and knowing how you feel. Isabella would probably kill me and it wouldn't be fair to you."

She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. He was praying to God that she wouldn't cry because he really didn't think he could take it.

"Damn, Edward, I didn't even think about how hurt Erica would be if she knew we had slept together. She's been with Maurice forever, he was her first and they have a family. I thought she wouldn't care at all. I guess I should've known better."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did it even come up?"

"She told me I was turning into an old lady and I needed to get out and do something other than work. She started ragging on me about when I last had sex and it just came out that it was with you. She looked at me like I had stabbed her in the back."

He was surprised at her revelation and at Erica's reaction.

"Ishie, it's been three years since we've been together. There hasn't been anybody else in your bed?" He found that unbelievable.

She shrugged, "I don't mess around with just anybody, EJ. I guess I'm kind of picky." She looked down and then she said,

"I guess I'm kind of in love with you, too."

He leaned forward and buried his head in his hands. It was even worse hearing that directly from her. He really had no idea.

"Hey, this is not your problem. You were straight with me about what this was for you. I didn't even really realize how I really felt until I started talking about you to Erica. I guess I know this is the real thing for you. I knew you weren't going to stay in some of the other relationships you had; just call it a hunch."

He felt really guilty.

"Maybe I should just go."

She looked into his eyes for a few moments and she finally smiled.

"You're already here, EJ. Get the works. You want to look good for your Isabella." She smiled with a tinge of sadness behind it.

"Edward, don't stop coming here because of me. There are three other stylists that would love to get the tips you give me. My boy, Reggie, has been dying to style your locks."

He smiled but he knew what he had to do.

"Nah. I think it's time for a change for both of us. You know what I mean?"

She nodded sadly and he got up and walked around her desk, picked up her hands and lifted her out of her seat. She was as tall as him in her heels.

"You know I love you, Ishie, but I don't feel the way about you that you deserve. I've been a complete ass. I should've known better than to try to be casual about…sex with you, especially since you were my first. You showed me how to treat a woman well and not be selfish in that department."

He was completely embarrassed to be talking about this with her and it showed on his face. However, he would be eternally grateful that he was introduced to intimacy by this woman. He knew first times could be horrid and his was anything but.

She genuinely chuckled and gave him a tight hug.

"Come on, heart-breaker; let me get you out of here so you can get back to your girl. I'm cool. We'll see each other again. It just won't be so confusing for me in the future with some distance between us. It's time for me to get back out there and stop being so scared. You were safe to love."

She kissed him softly on his nose and grabbed his hand to pull him out of the office.

He stopped her briefly and pulled her back inside and closed the door. She looked a little startled but curious.

"Ishie, when you start dating again, call me. I'm sure Isabella would be okay with a phone call. I want to do as thorough of a background check as I can on whoever you bring around Danica now that she's maturing. Erica told me she's attracted to…older men."

Aisha's head fell back from laughing.

"She's only attracted to one that I know of." She eyed Edward up and down and shook her head. "Yeah, it's definitely time for a change, EJ." She chuckled. "I'll keep your offer in mind, though. I know there are a lot of perverts out there. Oh, and when you talk to Isabella about me…if you do…make sure you tell her I said she better treat you right. I love you enough to let you go now but I don't know if that'll be the case in the future if she fucks it up."

He blushed and gulped a little as they finally exited the office so he could get everything done and be on his way home to his Isabella.

****DBW****

As Edward and Jacob were riding back to Naperville from "The Wright Place" feeling completely pampered and relaxed, Jacob turned down the radio and smirked at Edward before he began to speak.

"Sooo, what's up with you and the Wright sisters, E?"

He groaned because he was hoping Jacob hadn't noticed anything.

"What do you mean?" He tried to act as clueless as he really felt over the past two hours.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. Erica looks at you like you're a rare gem or something and that Aisha could melt shit with the looks she gives you. I was damn near sporting a stiffie from watching her give you that shave. Were you messing around with both of them?"

Edward contemplated how much he should tell him.

"J, I love them both but I'm in love with Isabella and the time I spend with them, Aisha in particular, is going to be drastically reduced."

"So, uuuuh, okay but that doesn't answer my question. Were you messing around with both of them?"

He sighed and answered, "No."

He was hoping that would be the end of the discussion but this is Jacob Black he was riding with. No such luck.

"So, just one of them? Which one?"

"Jacob, I'm gonna tell you this story once and quickly and I'm not repeating it because it's history now."

Jacob nodded his understanding after Edward repeated the details.

"Wow! What a wonderful predicament; trapped in the emotional world of three beautiful women."

Jacob's face was plastered with a goofy grin. Edward laughed a little and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, it's not so wonderful, dawg. Who would the third woman be, by the way?"

"Isabella, you idiot."

"J, Isabella doesn't know about any of this. I plan on talking to her about it but I want to do it at the right time."

"When would the right time be?"

"When we've been married for twenty years and she's lost the energy to stab me for being a moron."

"Look, in my opinion, you didn't do anything wrong and what you did with women in the past is your business. However, I know that Isabella won't see it that way if she finds out about Aisha and Erica some other way. So, I think you should tell her ASAP. Hey, but what do I know? I'm a married dude with two kids and a dog. I've never been in a love triangle."

He turned the music up and started bobbing his head to "Umi" by Mos Def.

Edward looked at Jacob and he could see his shoulders were shaking with laughter. Edward smiled and clicked on a different song.

Jacob's face scrunched up.

"Hey! I was listening to that. What the fuck is this?"

"My car. My tunes. This is the great Dolly Parton and the song is "I Will Always Love You." Sit back and enjoy." He grinned sinisterly. He knew Jacob hated country.

"At least you could play Whitney Houston's version, you ass." He pouted and crossed his arms like a kid and then his cell phone rang and he smiled.

"Can you please turn the music down, Edward? This is my lovely wife calling."

Edward complied but fully intended to turn it back up as soon as he got off the phone. As soon as Jacob answered the phone, Edward could hear the yelling. He was highly amused. At least somebody else was in the hot seat for a change.

"_I'm with Edward, baby. I had my phone off. I'm sorry."_

"_I decided to go and see if I could help with the party in any way."_

"_What are you talking about, Leelee? You have a house full of people there to help you get the kids together."_

"_The dog sitter should be there in a few minutes. He said he was coming at noon."_

He beat his head on the back of the armrest and Edward chuckled.

"_Baby, if you can't find the house, use the GPS or call me. I'll meet you wherever you are."_

"_I'm on the way back to Naperville now. The party starts at 2 p.m. and I already have my gift in my car."_

He widened his eyes at Edward and shook his head.

"_What do you mean are we getting into trouble again? That happened four years ago."_

He and Jacob went to a bachelor party of a mutual friend and Jacob was so drunk he fell asleep sitting in front of the lobby door of their building. The concierge called up and had Leah come down and get him. Edward got an earful from Leah about being a good friend and making sure he made it to the door of his home safely. This yelling occurred all while he was nursing a wicked hangover himself.

"_Baby, he just went to get his hair cut."_

"_No! You can't talk to him. He's driving."_

"_Listen, I'll see you in Naperville, Leelee. Please try to calm down. This is supposed to be a fun day for the kids. It's not fun if mommy and daddy are fighting."_

He held his phone away from his ear while Leah screamed at him for a full minute and a half.

"_I love you too, Leah. Bye."_

Edward tried his best to stifle his laughter.

"Sooo, that was Leah, huh? He finally let out the guffaws.

"Oooh! You think that shit is funny, huh? One of the last things she said is that she's calling Bella to let her know what kind of trouble we get into together."

Edward stopped laughing and his eyes widened.

"Nooo!"

Jacob smiled and nodded and Edward switched to the fast lane on I-55 to get to Naperville a little more quickly.

****DBW****

Edward didn't even torture Jacob with anymore of the country music he hated. His focus was on getting to Isabella. He had tried to call her but he kept getting voicemail which was pissing him off because she knew that the most important things in his world were her and Amanda. He called Alice's cell and she wasn't answered.

Jacob was talking about some procedure he had to perform on this young guy that really got to him because he almost died on the operating table. But it all went in one of Edward's ears and flew out the other. Jacob was a general surgeon. He decided not to focus on thoraces and cardiology, just like Carlisle. He also had a small general practitioner's practice that he owned with two other doctors when he wasn't on call as a surgeon. Most surgeons don't deal with sore throats and stomach aches; they felt it's beneath them. However, he cut back on his surgical duties so he could spend more time with his family. Being a general surgeon meant being mostly called in for Emergency Room operations and to assist with other operations where a specialist was needed. Owning the GP practice gave him a sense of control over his life, kept his ego in check, and gave him an excellent bedside manner.

As they pulled past the gate in Naperville, Edward was anxious to find out what the hell was going on. He didn't even bother to park in the garage. The car was just barely turned off and parked in the driveway as he jumped out and ran up to the door. Jacob was looking at him like he had lost his mind. He pushed though the door and called out for Isabella.

"Hey, sweetheart." Esme walked up to him with a concerned look on her face. "Where's the fire?"

He distractedly kissed his mother's cheek and asked her,

"Where are Isabella and Mae Mae?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"The last time I saw Bella she was making the cutest little car-shaped cookies I've ever seen and when I passed Alice's office a little while ago she was yelling at somebody on the phone." She clicked her tongue in disapproval. "I've always told her you can catch more bees with honey but does she listen to me?" She kept on rambling about something that Edward couldn't worry about at the moment. Then Jacob walked in and she focused on him.

"Hello, Dr. Black. When did you get here? Where are Leah and the kids?" Are they coming?"

Edward used the distraction to go look for his Isabella. He rushed into the kitchen and he saw a few dozen cookies cooling on racks and a few dozen more sitting on a decorative serving tray but no Isabella. As he walked onto the backyard deck, his father stopped and asked him if he thought the burgers looked done. Carlisle liked all of his meat medium rare but he knew kids liked them darn near burnt. Edward quickly looked them over and suggested he keep them on ten more minutes.

"Pop, have you seen Isabella?"

He shook his head no.

"She may be up in your room, son." He smirked at him and Edward gave him a questioning look. He just shrugged his shoulders and refocused on cooking.

Edward knocked on Alice's office door and, sure enough, she was yelling on the phone about a shipment that didn't come in and was trying to get another sent out ASAP for another event through various threats and other forms of extortion. Needless to say, she probably wouldn't be working with this supplier again. Edward knocked on the door to get her attention and she looked up impatiently. He mouthed,

"Where's Isabella?"

She rolled her eyes and she held up three fingers and thrust them up in the air a few of times indicating she was on the third floor.

He took the three flights of stairs two at a time and approached his bedroom door. As he was knocking lightly, he opened it.. He saw the creamy skin of Bella's bare back due to the fact that her hair was piled on top of her head in loose curls with tendrils falling haphazardly here and there. She was working on something that was sitting on his bed. She had on straight leg jeans that flared out slightly at the bottom and red sandal wedges that gave her a little height and accented the shape of her legs. He saw a red string tied around her waist so he figured she must've had on a top. He didn't know if he was relieved or disappointed.

"Isabella?" He walked further into the room as he called her name. She still wasn't responding but she stiffened and looked to the side. As he got closer, she reached up and removed something from her ear. He then realized she hadn't been able to hear him.

"Isabella?" She turned around and his breath caught. Her cheeks looked flushed red but he could see as he got closer that she had on a little make-up and a little lip gloss. Her eyes looked bigger and more sultry. The red halter top she was wearing clung to her breasts and he could tell she didn't have on a bra again. She smiled big and hugged him tightly which confirmed his suspicions and made him want to lock her up in the room with him until the party was over and have his way with her.

"Hey, honey buns! I was just wrapping up Manda Bear's gifts. I didn't hear you come in."

She rubbed her hands over his cheeks and tugged on his dreads.

"Your skin feels so smooth."

She examined Aisha's work. His hairline and sideburns were lined up neatly as well as his goatee. He sat down on the bed because he was leaning down into her, smelling her hair and he felt like he was going to fall on top of her; although he wouldn't have minded the landing from the fall.

"You look good, puddin'. Is this Mae Mae's handiwork?"

She huffed, "I'll have you know I am capable of dressing myself and doing my own hair."

He raised his eyebrow at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, it's Alice's handiwork." She stood between his legs and rubbed her cheek against his and sighed softly.

"You smell heavenly." She whispered softly into his ear as she straddled his lap.

He moaned and completely forgot why he came up there as he attacked her lips. He had been away from his Isabella for over two hours and he was starving for his connection with her. He pulled her as close to his body as she could get without merging with him and reached up and pulled the elastic band out of her hair. He pulled away slightly, not really wanting to be pulled away from her sweet lips and watched her hair fall in cascades around her shoulders and down her back.

She kissed him more deeply and he moaned as he bucked up into her center and then she moaned. They stayed like that for what felt like eons, moaning, kissing and grinding into each other, until they were interrupted by squeals downstairs and the other sounds of people filling the house. They pulled away and leaned their foreheads against each other and they were both panting.

She smiled and looked at him mischievously, "I'm going to have to make sure you leave me for at least a couple of hours every day so I can get kissed like that on a regular basis."

He smiled and chastely kissed her again then he became concerned about what he noticed earlier.

"Baby, are you wearing anything over this halter top?"

She looked down and shrugged.

"Nope. Alice said that Amanda and I were going to match and I shouldn't cover it up."

He growled lowly and she looked at him with concern.

"What's wrong? You don't like it?"

"Of course I like it. I just don't think it's a good idea to wear something that makes me want to rip it off of you at a kids' party, especially since I can see and feel that you're not wearing a bra. We don't want to scare the kids with what's going on in my pants, baby."

She looked down at his crotch and laughed.

"I think you might be the only one that can tell, sweetie. You're blinded by love. Nobody else pays that much attention to me."

She stood up and jiggled around which didn't help him calm down at all.

"See! You can hardly tell. Alice has these cool cup thingies that hold me down a little better than those pasties did."

He wrapped his hands around her hips and pulled her back between his legs.

"Don't jump up and down like that when we're downstairs, baby."

She furrowed her brows at him and rolled her eyes.

"Oh! I forgot to mention it because you distracted me. I got an interesting call from Leah a while ago."

Edward gasped so quickly he choked a little on the air.

"She told me to ask you about a wild bachelor party and Jacob spending the night in a drunken stupor in front of his building for all the neighbors to see."

"Uuuuhmmm…One night we went to a bachelor party and we dropped Jacob off thinking he could make it to his door alone but we were wrong, I guess." He shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal.

She gave him a skeptical look. "Uh huh. I'll have to grill you about the details later." She tried to use her little person strength to pull him off the bed by his hands and he laughed because she was leaning back and pulling with all her might.

"What are you doing, Wonder Woman?"

She was huffing from the exertion, "Damn, you're hard to move! I want you to come downstairs with me to greet Amanda at the door. She should be here any minute."

She kept trying to pull him up and he smiled at her effort. He easily tugged her to him and she blew out a breath that blew her hair out of her eyes and she frowned. He thought she was the most adorable little person he had ever seen.

"Okay try again, Puddin', but this time use your legs and put your back into it. "

She slapped him with her open hands on his chest.

"Will you please come downstairs with me so we can greet Amanda at the door?" She smiled sweetly and held out her hand. He was immediately pulled off the bed and she seemed pleased with the effectiveness of her new tactics. He couldn't wait until the day she fully realized the power she had over him.

"I'll do whatever you want me to, baby. Let me carry these boxes down for you. After we say hello and Happy Birthday to Manda Bear, I have to run back up here, shower and change."

She frowned as he picked up the gift boxes that he knew contained books.

"Why are you frowning, baby?"

"I have to play hostess while I'm thinking about you upstairs taking a shower naked. That's cruel and unusual punishment."

He laughed and hugged her.

"Come on, sexy lady. I know you can't wait to see Amanda. You'll forget all about me once you see her."

She snorted out a chuckle, "Not likely, pretty man."

He half laughed and half gulped. Her saying "pretty man" reminded him of the conversation he needed to have with her about his past and the status of his current relationships with Erica and Aisha.

Edward walked in front of Bella as they were going down the stairs, in case she fell. He noticed her legs wobbling a little in the wedges she was wearing. If she fell, his body would absorb the impact; at least that's what he was hoping for. He didn't want to begin this day with a trip to the emergency room.

When they got to the bottom of the stairs, they started hearing wolf whistles and cat calls.

"Look at you, sexy mama!" Rose said loudly as she pushed Edward out of the way and hugged Bella. He shook his head and walked the presents over to the receiving table that was already starting to fill up. He saw that his grandmother, Charlotte, Peter, Carmen and Enrique were already there out on the deck. He wondered who was running the diner but figured he'd talk to them later.

He turned back towards Isabella and noticed that she seemed just as friendly with Rose as she was with Alice, which confused him a little considering they hadn't spent much time together. He figured they had bonded somehow and was pretty happy about that. Then he saw the other love of his life running towards him and a huge smile spread over his face. He knelt down to her level and opened his arms.

"Edward!" Amanda ran into his arms and wrapped him in a vice-grip of a hug around his neck.

He hugged her back just as tightly lifting her up in the air as he stood and she wrapped her little legs around him, leaned back and examined his face like she hadn't seen him in years.

He kissed her forehead. "Well, hello there, birthday girl! I missed you!"

"I missed you, too! Everything is so cool! Did you see the big movie screen and the pin yatty thing? Everything has _Mater_ and _Lightning_ on it!"

He laughed, "You mean the piñata? Well, of course everything is cool, Manda Bear. Cool little girls always have cool birthday parties!"

She rested her head on his shoulder and kept talking to him a mile a minute about the things she had been doing over the last few days. It was like music to his ears. He closed his eyes and rocked her from side to side until they were interrupted.

"Manda Bear!" Bella reached up and ran her fingers through her hair and Amanda's eyes lit up.

"Bella Boo! I missed you!" She wiggled in Edward's arms and he was about to sit her down and let Isabella pick her up but she stopped him and she wrapped her arms around them both and kissed Amanda's cheek.

Amanda and Edward frowned, "Why are you crying?" She reached out with her little hand and wiped her sister's tears.

She shrugged, grabbed her hand and kissed it. "I just missed you and I'm glad to see you. Look! We match!"

Edward noticed that Amanda had on a red _Cars _t-shirt, little red sandals with flat wedge heels and blue jeans. He smiled knowing that this was Mae Mae's doing. Then they heard camera clicks and turned towards the sound.

"Isn't this a beautiful sight?" Esme was grinning from ear to ear and a little teary-eyed as she took a few more pictures.

Then they heard Alice growl.

"Oh great! Come on, Bella. I'm gonna have to put the waterproof mascara on you, raccoon."

Bella let herself be pulled away after Edward kissed her cheek. Emily ran over and tackled Edward's legs into a hug.

"Uncle Edward!" He smiled big and bent down and picked her up settling her on his other hip. He walked over to the couch in the living room with the two girls sitting on either side of him. They were both telling him about what they had done and where they had been. Emily had her head on one shoulder playing with his locks, like she had done since she was a baby. Amanda was gesturing wildly about going to the _Shedd Aquarium._ Edward eyes widened at the knowledge that Amanda had been in such a public and uncontrollable venue. She was going on and on about the whales and the dolphins.

Emmett came over and sat on the couch with cookie crumbs around his mouth. He took Emily off the couch and told them both to go run and play. Amanda climbed down reluctantly and ran off with Emily towards Alice's room. Emmett slapped Edward's knee.

"I guess Amanda told you we went to the _Shedd_?"

Edward just looked at him certain than the agitation and anger was on his face.

"Don't give me that look, EJ. Do you think I'm a moron? If you don't recall, my IQ is a couple points higher than yours."

"Look at my face, Emmett. Does it look like I give a damn about your high IQ right now? She's here so everything turned out fine. What I'm trying to understand is why I'm finding out about it from Amanda and neither you nor Rose called to ask Isabella if her sister can go?"

"Edward, don't piss me off right now. I'm not in the mood. Everything on my body hurts and I have to punish it even further today by running around with the kids. If you hadn't noticed, the sister of your protected witness has been spending quite a bit of time with my daughter. If a hair on her head gets harmed, so does the hair on my daughter's head. You better bet your ass I took every security precaution known to man to make sure she and the rest of the family got there safely and everywhere else we go. Neither Rose nor I are going to pick up the phone, like we're twelve, and run every move we make by you. So, stop being as ass, lighten up and try to enjoy the goddamn birthday party." Emmett got up angrily and walked back into the kitchen not letting Edward utter a word in response.

Edward's head was spinning. One second he was surrounded by the girls and the woman he loves and in the next, he's being ripped a new one by his brother. He got up and followed him into the kitchen.

Emmett was at the kitchen island with a sandwich in one hand and another on the plate. He looked up as Edward walked in and huffed at him as he continued eating. He went and sat next to him.

"What in the hell crawled up your ass, Em?"

Emmett slowly finished chewing the bite that was in his mouth and swallowed, following it with some juice. He sat back, took a deep breath and finally answered.

"Edward, I haven't seen you all week. I haven't gotten a text, an email, a kiss my ass…nothing. Do you realize you didn't even say hello to me before you started glaring at me?"

Edward swallowed hard but didn't say anything which allowed Emmett to continue his rant.

"I didn't get a thank you for taking care of your girlfriend's sister or anything. I get that they're your main priority right now and I feel the same about Rose and Emily. I also understand that when you fall in love with someone, your world gets a lot smaller for a while. So, I'm not trippin' about not hearing from you _every_ damn day; but you have to do better, Edward."

Edward reached out and quickly grabbed the plate with the other sandwich on it and bit down into the corned beef on rye before Emmett could snatch it back. Emmett gave him the evil eye but that didn't deter him and as he got up to make another sandwich, Edward responded.

"I'm sorry for not saying hello. That was rude. I guess I was kind of wrapped up in seeing Amanda and my niece again. When they told me they were at the _Shedd_, all kinds of horrible scenarios went through my mind. The first thing that popped into my mind was getting a phone call saying that something happened to Amanda and nobody saw anything because it was too damn crowded; that happens to be one of my worst nightmares."

Emmett started to speak but Edward stopped him.

"Let me finish. I didn't interrupt you so don't interrupt me." Emmett nodded and kept eating.

It took them a long time to get to the place where they weren't yelling, rolling around on the ground and beating the crap out of each other at the slightest infraction. Their last big brawl was when Emie was two and Rose put them both in a time out. After they finished laughing at each other, they agreed to act like the grown-ups they were. So, they had come a long way.

"I know you're not stupid and I know you would protect Amanda with your life, especially when she's with Emily. That brings me to my issue with you right now. Picking up a phone and sending a text goes both ways. I know you're a big time quarterback and everything but can you spare a minute for your brother? I'll try to do better with communicating with you but you need to try, too. Of course I'm thankful that you took care of Amanda but I wouldn't expect anything less. I would expect you to take care of Amanda like I take care of Emily when I have her. Did you give me a cheerful hello and say thank you every time you came to pick up your daughter from my crib? I seem to recall a night where I didn't even know you had come to get her; I awoke from a nap and she just wasn't in her bed. I'm running through the loft frantically searching for her thinking she'd wandered out of her room and figured out how to get out the front door."

They sat in silence eating their sandwiches. Emmett got up and grabbed two _Snapples_ and handed one to Edward.

"I _may_ have overreacted. I'm sorry."

Edward laughed.

"_Hello_, Em. How are you doing today other than sensitive as hell?"

He laughed, "I've got a pain shooting down my left quad and I've got another pain in my ass sitting next to me eating my sandwich. Other than that, I'm doing fine."

They sat and listened to the hustle and bustle of the house. It was 1:30 and more people were starting to arrive.

"I gotta go take a shower and get changed. I'll see you in about a half hour. Next time, can you please just send me a quick text letting me know where you're taking Amanda?"

"Alright. Monster, it was after hours. We had the whole aquarium to ourselves. There are cameras everywhere. If anybody would've gotten anywhere near Amanda that we didn't know, you'd know about it right away. Don't worry so much, man."

Edward knew this intellectually. Yet, a small part of him thought there was still a small chance for someone to snatch her and quickly jump in a waiting car, onto Lake Shore Drive and then to God knows where. Thinking of that made his anxiety spike; however, he tried not to let it show on his face.

"You're right, man. I'm buggin'. I may have overreacted a little, too."

Before he left the room he said,

"Thank you for watching Amanda for us, Animal."

He beamed, "You're welcome. She's a little character and I love having her around, actually. Emily adores her."

They hugged and he quickly left to get showered and dressed.

****DBW****

As Edward was leaving his room disappointed that Isabella hadn't sneaked upstairs and joined him in the shower, he heard Emmett's booming voice.

"_Swanster! You look hot! The cookies are da bomb!"_

He chuckled because he thought this nickname may stick and he could just imagine Isabella's eyes rolling.

When he emerged from his landing, Jacob was waiting for him, with a big grin on his face, on the second floor with three people standing behind him. He pulled Edward to the side.

"E, I want you to meet my sisters and my brother-in-law, finally. I've been trying to hide them so we can surprise Bells. I know you've spoken to my sisters on the phone. Here they are live and in person."

One of the twins spoke up, "Is this _the_ Edward we've been hearing so much about?" She was a little darker than the other twin and slightly thinner. He assumed this was the twin that lived in Hawaii. They had the same dark hair and eyes as Jacob and they were both very attractive.

"The one and only. Don't believe a word he says. He lies." He smiled and gave her a hug. "You must be Rachel."

She looked surprised that he got it right. The twins both raised their eyebrows and he pointed out one was more tan than the other and it didn't look artificial.

Rebecca spoke up, "I guess being a detective has its advantages. We've only heard good things about you. Now, you've swept our little Swan off her feet and we hear you treat her really well. So, we already adore you. You're kind of easy on the eyes, too."

He blushed a little, hugged Rebecca and said thanks.

"So, how was your flight, Rachel?"

"Long and I feel like I need a bath _and _a shower. Other than that, it was cool. My husband's plane is coming in tomorrow. Why don't you two come by on Tuesday and have dinner with us so you can meet him? Becca's husband is coming, too."

He said he didn't see that being a problem if Isabella didn't mind and turned his attention to a handsome man who had the same features as Leah. He looked to be just barely in his twenties without Leah's green eyes. As soon as they made eye contact, Seth cheeks took on a little bit of a blush and looked down which surprised Edward. Men usually get into small pissing contests over the smallest things. Eye contact and handshakes were two of them.

He reached out his hand and said, "So you must be Seth."

Seth shook his hand firmly but still didn't look him directly in the eyes. He figured he must be shy.

"So, you're a teacher I hear."

Seth smiled and finally looked at him.

"Yeah, I work with the kids at the school on the rez. We're working on getting a new facility built with more modern classrooms but right now we're working with what we have."

Edward figured he must have to talk about teaching to draw him out of his shell.

"What grades do you teach?"

"I teach second graders but I'm trained to teach K-12."

"You teach seven and eight-year olds. That must be a hectic day."

He laughed looking more comfortable by the second. "It can be."

Jacob interrupted.

"Okay. So, we're going to hide up here until you let us know it's safe to come out and surprise Bells."

"Yeah, wait in Emmett's room and I'll bring her up here. I'm sure she's gonna bawl when she sees you three. She'll want to fix her make-up before she comes back downstairs to avoid the wrath of Alice."

They all chuckled.

"Give me about five or ten minutes. It's nice to meet y'all."

He walked the rest of the way down and he heard Jacob's laugh, giggling and Seth telling them to cut it out. He didn't know what that was all about.

He had seriously debated whether he should wear the red _Cars_ t-shirt that Mae Mae had put on his bed. First of all, it was too tight. She seemed to think he should wear fitted t-shirts to show off his biceps. He didn't like wearing anything fitted. He felt like Duane "The Rock" Johnson without the muscularity and the charisma. Secondly, he wasn't quite ready to be as cheesy as he felt and wear matching outfits with his Isabella and Amanda but that was in fact what was happening at this very moment. The only difference being that he had on black jeans and black Doc Martens. However, if it took making an ass out of himself to make the women in his life happy, he could endure it for one day.

He sought out Isabella after he hugged Shirley hello and she laughed at the cartoon on his t-shirt. He walked over to the couch she was sitting on expecting her to giggle at his shirt but she was not laughing. In fact, she was kind of giving him an open-mouthed, hooded-eyed, 'Bella in the moment' look. The feeling was mutual. He leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Come with me, gorgeous." She just smiled, nodded and stood up.

Then they heard a throat clear and he turned towards it.

"You can just go on and ignore me. Pretend like I'm invisible." She feigned anger.

"Hello, Mrs. Black. You look good." He bent down, hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

"So do you. I've never seen a t-shirt with a cartoon on it look so manly."

He laughed and waved her off.

"Right, Leah. I'm such a stud." He rolled his eyes and she laughed. "Do you mind if I steal Bella for a few minutes?" He winked at her and smiled and she nodded and smiled back.

"Sure! I'm gonna go eat ."

As they were walking towards the stairs holding hands, he saw a welcome sight.

"Dr. E! I didn't know you were coming." He walked up and hugged the doctor that worked in the Forensics lab.

"Jasper invited me. I brought my niece. I hope you don't mind. I brought some of my mother's macaroni and cheese. I came with food and gifts."

Edward laughed.

"No! I'm glad you're here, man. Where's Nicole?" Malcolm had been dating someone seriously and exclusively for five years.

His expression dimmed and he said,

"We broke up about a month ago."

Edward and Bella said simultaneously,

"I'm sorry to hear that."

He smiled at both of them.

"It just wasn't working out. It's okay."

Edward slapped his forehead.

"I'm so rude. Malcolm this is Isabella Swan, the birthday girl's sister. Isabella, this Dr. Malcolm Essex. He works in Forensics but we go way back."

"Just call me, Bella, Dr. Essex." She shook his hand warmly.

Malcolm looked between Bella and Edward and smiled.

"Well, Bella, just call me Malcolm. I leave Dr. Essex at work, if I can. Your guy here is a pain but I love him to death."

Bella just laughed.

"Yeah, he's everybody's lovable pain in the ass."

Edward pretended to be insulted.

"Why don't I just go stand in for that piñata out there so everybody can take a swing at me?"

Malcolm and Bella both laughed and she said,

"If you're full of Snickers, I might take you up on that. Where's that stick?"

He picked her up and put her under his arm like a package and she squealed.

"Excuse us, man. We have to go have a little conversation."

Malcolm laughed and said,

"Right! It was nice to meet you, Bella."

He put her down in the hallway on the second floor and she hit him on the chest.

"Why didn't you introduce me as your lady, like you always do?"

He smiled down at her sweetly.

"We work together and I'm technically not supposed to be in love with and dating a protected witness. I'm sorry. He's my friend. I shouldn't have even been worried about that."

"I understand but I think I might just buy a t-shirt and have 'Edward's Lady' put right on the front with an arrow pointing to you. Or, maybe I'll kidnap you and make you get my name tattooed on your ass."

He tickled her sides and she squealed loudly. He picked her up by her bottom and leaned her back against the hallway wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist and caressed his locks. He kissed her softly.

"What will that tattoo say, 'Property of Bella'? Or will you just have your face tattooed on my ass?"

She kissed his neck.

"Nah. That would just be weird. I think 'Bella's Bitch' is more appropriate." She squeezed his arms and rubbed her hands up and down his biceps while wiggling her eyebrows.

He raised his eyebrows at her and laughed.

"I would be insulted if it wasn't so true. Should I be scared that you know how much power you have over me?"

She shrugged.

"Don't be scared. Being my love slave comes with lots of perks. You get breakfast in bed, unlimited kisses, bubble baths and massages."

"Hmmm…It sounds like you're _my_ love slave."

She whispered in his hear.

"Ssssh. Don't tell anybody." She kissed the shell of his ear with little butterfly kisses and tightened her legs around him as he moaned.

He shivered and squeezed her hips. "Isabella! I can't…we can't. Let me put you down."

She slid down his body and pouted at him as he tried to control his breathing and his heart rate.

"I have something I have to show you."

She grinned, started clapping and pulling him towards the stairs that lead to the third floor.

"Let's go to your room."

He stopped her reluctantly.

"Nooo. Baby, let's stop in Emmett's room."

"Really? Won't that be weird?"

He laughed, "No, beautiful. Come on."

He opened the door to peek his head around to see where everyone was. They were all standing by the bed and gave him the thumbs up so he let Bella go in first. She was greeted by a chorus of "Surprise!" She jumped and screamed a little. Then she blinked rapidly with recognition.

"Rachel? Rebecca? Seth? Oh my God! You're here!" She ran towards all three of them with her arms spread out and they ran towards her just as enthusiastically.

Of course she was blubbering. They were talking over each other and wiping each other's tears so Jacob and Edward backed out of the room to let them catch up.

"See. What did I tell you? Waterworks."

Jacob chuckled. "Sooo, are you gonna go with 'Bella's Bitch' or 'Property of Bella?'"

Edward stopped in the middle of the stairwell and stared at him.

"You heard that?"

He smiled.

"Every word 'love slave.' Let's eat. I'm starving." Jacob patted him on the shoulder still chuckling.

He thought to himself,

"_Damn! I thought we were whispering. Are the doors that thin in here?"_

Jacob gave him an odd look, "Were you talking to me? The doors aren't that thin. I had the door cracked open slightly so I could tell when you were coming."

Edward's eyes widened.

"I said that out loud?"

Jacob just shook his head at him.

"You're losing it, E."

They both walked down the stairs to get some food.

****DBW****

What Edward saw when he looked out the French doors to the back yard was complete chaos. Instead of ten well-behaved kids, there were at least eighteen six or seven-year old mental patients outside. Some were tumbling around in the air tent. Some were sitting on the bench eating paper plates filled with finger food on the stadium seating, mostly the girls. Some were rolling around on the lawn wrestling, mostly the boys. A few were just chasing each other with the checkered flags from their party favor bags in their hands.

He sent up a silent prayer of thanks that the adult food table was inside and the kids had been banished to the back yard area unless they had to use the restroom. The kids' food table was outside and Alice, Rose, and Carmen were manning the table. He saw that there was a DJ off to the side and a microphone stand. The baby grand had been moved outside by the pool area but was covered until it was time for Amanda to open her birthday presents.

He piled up his plate with food for himself. Then he fixed a plate for his grandmother. He found her sitting in the dining room talking to Peter and Charlotte.

"Excuse me, grand, Peter, Char."

They all turned to smile at him.

"Here's your plate, grandma Do you want anything to drink?"

She smiled and asked for water.

He turned to Charlotte and Peter. "You two want anything?"

They both shook their heads no.

"We're all set. Have you seen Ben and Angie?" Peter asked.

His brows furrowed because he thought they would've gotten there first. They were only ten minutes away.

"I saw them yesterday but I don't think they've arrived, yet."

Peter shrugged and continued his conversation with Shirley.

He went into the kitchen to eat at the breakfast bar because he could see out into the yard from there and he wanted to keep an eye on Amanda. He had spotted her sitting down eating with Emily and Nessie with a _Mater_ party hat on.

He pulled out his cell and dialed Ben's number but he got the voice mail.

"_Ben, holla back when you get this message." _He officially became worried when the same thing happened after he called Angela's phone.

He texted both of them to call him ASAP to let him know they were okay. After he finished eating, he saw Isabella back on the main floor, puffy-eyed and holding Seth's hand with her head leaning on his arm. They were smiling at each other and joking, which irritated him and made him curious about what they were talking about at the same time.

He knew he needed to get a handle on the intense feelings of jealousy that were creeping up into his chest over his heart. He walked towards one of the downstairs bathrooms to splash his face but, as he got closer, he was hearing strange noises. The hallway was practically empty, oddly enough. He figured nobody really knew about this restroom since it was under the back stairwell right before Alice's wing and it was only a half bath.

The noises became more distinct as he got closer and he recognized them as moans and grunts. Somebody was having sex in the bathroom. His first instinct was to walk away but then he became angry because a) he was jealous and b) this was a kids' party and anybody could come down this hallway at any time, including one of the kids.

He knocked on the door; then he heard two people silencing each other and a small commotion.

"Excuse me, people, this is not a _Motel 6_. Can you please come out of the bathroom when you're decent?"

He stood away from the door to give the people inside some privacy but after three minutes he walked towards the door to knock again and it opened abruptly and a man came out and closed the door quickly behind him.

"Ben? When did you get here?"

"Uhh…About an hour ago." He looked down sheepishly. His shirt was buttoned all wrong and he had a huge hickey on his neck right next to his Adam's apple. There was no way he could hide that mark.

"Ben, what the hell is wrong with you? Where is Angela? You better not have been fucking another woman in a bathroom of all places. I'll whoop your tacky unfaithful ass myself."

Just when he was about to get into it with his cousin, the door opened.

"Hi, Edward."

Angela walked out bashfully, trying unsuccessfully to smooth her hair down. It was all over the place. Her hickey was worse than Ben's and it was right over the cleavage of her right breast which was on display in her tank top. Ben looked at her, gasped, quickly took off his lopsided shirt and gave it to her to mask the mark and cover herself. Edward thanked God that Ben was wearing a t-shirt.

He was caught in between laughing hysterically and running away to bleach his brain.

"Oh. Hi, Angela. I just tried to call you two."

They all stood there awkwardly until Edward finally broke the silence.

"Well, if you want to freshen up in a bigger bathroom, you can use the one in my room on the third floor. I might have a shirt you can fit, Ben. Ang, I think you might be my mom's size. I can get you a shirt."

They nodded and did the walk of shame towards the back stairwell and Edward had to stifle his laughter again.

"Uuuh, listen you two. My room is _only_ for freshening up and changing clothes." They nodded their understanding and kept walking without looking back.

When he thought they were out of earshot, he finally let out his laughter. He couldn't wait to tell Isabella what just happened.

He found another bathroom to go to because he just couldn't go in there….

****DBW****

_**Okay…lol…There is so much going on around Amanda's birthday party. I didn't realize it would be this long. There's one more chapter left of it and then we get to find out what Jane has to say to Edward. **_


	26. Chapter 26

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

_**A/N: I was blown away by the reviews and responses to the last few chapters. It really makes my day to see those 'review alerts' in my inbox. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!**_

_**Thanks to Aniseed, Humble4, and Thaigherlillie. These ladies are the best support team a writer can ask for. Hey! I'm a writer! Cool! **_

_**You know I had to throw a "chagrin" up in this story somewhere, so look for it. That's Stephenie Meyer's favorite word…lol Just a little shout out to the woman who started this craziness. I know I have a few I use all of the time, too, APPARENTLY. ;) **_

_**LEMON ALERT!**_

**Chapter 26 – Amanda's Birthday Party**

When Edward emerged from the restroom, he was determined not to live up to the _Fred Flintstone_ moniker that Bella had bestowed upon him. He trusted her. She loved him. Talking to Seth was not a big deal. Besides, he should be focused on Amanda; this was her day.

However, when he walked into the great room and saw his Isabella laying back on a loveseat with her back against the armrest, he stopped dead in his tracks. She had her shoes off and her feet in Seth's lap with him massaging them. He damn near burst a blood vessel. He stood in place clenching and opening his fist before he turned on his heel to fix another plate of food. Emmett sidled up next to him and put his arm around his shoulders.

"Edward, calm down. They're just old friends catching up."

"What? I'm calm. I'm just bringing my lady some food."

Emmett chuckled and said,

"Don't be rude. Fix a plate for Seth, too."

Before he could stop himself he said,

"Fuck Seth! I don't know what the fuck he wants to eat. He can use his two feet and hands to fix his own fucking plate. Maybe that'll give him something else to do besides molesting my girl."

Emmett laughed and said, "Yeah, you're really calm. Well, I guess we're in for more entertainment than the clown that's coming."

He walked past his mother and remembered he was supposed to be getting Angela a new shirt so he turned around.

"Mom, Angela spilled and needs a new shirt. Do you have a blouse she can borrow? She's in my room now with Ben."

Esme said she thought she might have something for Angela and went off to help his new cousin.

As he got closer to Seth and Isabella, his hands started to shake slightly. When she saw him approach, her face brightened even more, which made Edward's heart rate pick up but he was still pissed. Seth stopped rubbing her feet and stared at him. His face had turned red again. Edward wondered if all the blood already being at the surface of his face would reduce the bruising from the beat-down he was about to catch.

"Excuse me, Isabella, Seth. I don't mean to interrupt because you look so fucking cozy. I brought some food for you."

He held the plate out for her to take and her face had turned completely somber. She took the plate and set it down on the ottoman in front of the loveseat.

"Edward, why don't you join us? We were just catching up." Isabella said with a tinge of anger to her voice.

"Nah. I don't like being a third wheel." He looked at her pointedly and walked away to join the party outside. He could feel Isabella on his heels and she grabbed his elbow to stop him.

"Can I talk to you for a minute in private?"

He turned around and what he saw made him a little scared but he was too angry himself to care. Her face was bright red, she was shoeless and tapping her little foot, with her arms crossed over her chest. Edward indicated for her to follow him. They walked past a startled Seth and a chuckling Emmett before they ended up at the basement door.

Bella stormed down the stairs and he locked the door behind him. He met her at the bottom of the stairs and turned the lights on. The basement was set up for the grown-folks party already.

"Edward, what in _the hell_ was that bullshit?"

"I'd like to know the same shit. I thought you were such good friends with the twins. I didn't know you were Seth's bff. Have you spent more than five minutes with Rachel and Rebecca?"

"Edward Cullen, what is going on in your head? You think I'm cheating on you with Seth of all people, at your parents' house, at my sister's birthday party and in plain view? So, I'm a slut now with no respect for your family or you?"

"Isabella Swan, what the fuck is that man's hands doing all over you?"

"Edward, he was rubbing my feet because I'm not used to heels and we were standing while we were talking in Emmett's room. I have more to worry about in regards to Seth than you do!"

He looked confused,

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Well, after he got through telling me he double-majored in Literature and Education because he's a writer that wanted a steady gig to pay the bills, he told me his heroes were James Baldwin, Oscar Wilde, Truman Capote, and Langston Hughes. He also told me he was _gay_."

Edward swallowed hard and he said,

"Come again?"

"Yeah, you heard me right. He's gay and he thinks you are the most gorgeous man he's ever seen. That's why he can barely talk to you. He's shy around attractive men!"

Her face had turned even redder and she was still tapping her foot. However, her arms were at her sides and her fists were balled up. His instinct was to protect his balls because it looked like she wanted to kick him there. The only response he could come up with was,

"Oh."

She scoffed.

"_Oh_? Is that all you can say?"

"Uhmm…I'm sorry?"

"You know what? You're always sorry but you've really pissed me off this time. Do you think I'm stupid? At least give me enough credit to consider me a sneaky cheat!"

She started to march back upstairs but he grabbed her around the waist and set her back down in front of him.

"Wait a minute, Isabella! Try to see it from my point of view, okay? All I see is you having a grand ole time with this good-looking guy, who's become your fucking shadow since you reconnected with him and you have history with. What would that shit look like to you?"

"Edward, that's not even the point. You should trust me! I love you. I'm in love with you. I wouldn't hurt you and I wouldn't cheat on you! You made me feel like shit up there! By the way, I would give you the _benefit of the doubt_, or I would pull you aside and ask you what the deal was. I wouldn't embarrass you and treat you shitty!"

"Ooooh, okay! Well, let's see. Today I found out the hair stylist I've been going to since I was eighteen and lost my virginity to is in love with me. I decided to stop going to her but I let her hook me up one last time."

Isabella's lips curled up and she asked through clenched teeth, "What the fuck did you just say?"

"I _said_ the woman that does my hair is in love with me."

"No, I don't want to hear that shit again, the other part."

Edward closed in eyes and cursed to himself because he did not mean to tell her like this and as soon as he realized what he had just done in anger and defensiveness, he was immediately sorry.

"Uhhh…I decided to stop going to her."

She walked up on him with her fists balled up again and he actually backed up a few steps.

"You said you lost your _virginity_ to her but you let her _hook you up_ one last time? What the fuck does that shit mean, Edward?"

As soon as he was about to open his mouth to say he didn't mean it like it sounded, she pulled her arm back and punched him straight in his jaw. She grabbed her hand and winced in pain, jumping up and down. He didn't even have time to register his own pain before he responded to hers.

"Let me see, baby."

She pulled her hand away.

"Do NOT 'baby' or 'puddin' me, you asshole! I am going upstairs to have your father look at my hand to see if it's broken and then I'm going to be with my sister and help her celebrate her birthday. Do not follow me! As soon as this thing is over, I'm out of here and out of your place, too."

Bella stomped angrily up the stairs, unlocked the door and threw it open, and disappeared from his sight. Edward sat at the bottom of the stairs holding his head in his hands. He felt a hand on his shoulder a few minutes later and looked up into Emmett's face.

"Are you alright? Your jaw is turning dark. Did the Swanster punch you? I saw her holding her hand."

Edward looked up in a panic.

"I have to go make this right." He jumped up to follow her and Emmett held him down.

"No, Edward! Please, give her some time to cool off. You didn't listen before. Listen to me now. Give her some space. Just go on back up and enjoy the party. She'll come around. She loves you."

Edward looked at Emmett through teary eyes.

"Do you really think so?"

"Well, I don't know what happened and it might take some heavy groveling, since she was angry enough to punch you in the damn jaw. But, I just don't see her being angry with you for long."

As soon as he walked back into the main part of the house, Esme approached him. She reached up and gingerly touched his jaw. Edward winced a little but it wasn't that bad. At least his jaw wasn't broken. He didn't know about her hand, though. She put all her might into that shit and his head was hard.

Esme grabbed his hand and pulled him towards his father's office but Edward stopped her before they got there.

"Mom, is Isabella's hand broken?"

"No. Her knuckles are just bruised and a little swollen. Your father put an ace bandage on her hand and attached a thin ice pack to the back to keep the swelling down."

"Alright. I'm just gonna go grab some peas out the freezer and go back downstairs for a little while." She squeezed his hand and let him go.

He walked into the kitchen and Alice and Rose were in there putting more cookies on the trays.

"Hey, Edward. Holy shit! What happened to your face?" Alice walked over quickly and examined the bruise.

He was trying to keep his emotions under check because this was probably last day he had with Isabella and Amanda.

"It's no big deal. I had a little accident." He walked over to the freezer pulled out a bag of peas and tried to walk out of the kitchen quickly.

"An accident? I'm a nurse, Edward. Did you _accidently_ run into someone's fist?" Rose said as she examined his face.

"Well, you know me. I'm an asshole. It was bound to happen at some point. Would you two please excuse me?" He quickly walked out of the kitchen back into the basement, closed the door and locked it.

****DBW****

Bella was pacing back and forth in Emmett's room, holding her hand and trying to calm herself down. It was already after 3 p.m. and she hadn't spent any real time with Amanda. Her mind and body was so completely wrapped up in Edward sometimes Amanda was an afterthought…just like her mother treated her.

She thought about all those days spent in the Forks library getting lost inside of her own head. The emotional abandonment paid off for her in the form of creativity and a strong imagination but it was still abandonment.

She looked in the mirror and saw that her face was splotchy and red. She looked awful and she felt one hundred times worse than she looked. She looked at the top she was wearing and scoffed. She would never wear a top like this on her own. She carefully removed the halter, looked through Emmett's drawers and found one of his old football jerseys. She put it on and went into the bathroom to scrub the make-up off her face that Alice so expertly applied. When she looked back in the mirror she thought,

_This is the Isabella I know, stripped down and plain._

She draped Alice's halter carefully over the back of Emmett's desk chair and sat on his bed. Just then, she heard a knock on the door. If it was Edward, he was going to get another punch but this time it would be in the balls.

"Who is it?"

"It's Angela, Bells. Can I come in?"

She went over, unlocked the door, and opened it for her.

When Angela walked in, Bella asked her to lock it behind her.

"Oookaay. Bella, what's going on? Where's Edward? Why aren't you downstairs with Amanda? What happened to your hand? Why did you change clothes? You looked pretty."

She went and sat next to Bella on the bed.

"Fuck all this make-up and wearing all this shit that's not even me!"

Angela jumped a little at her outburst.

"Ooookay potty-mouth, what's really going on?"

Bella recounted everything that happened between her and Edward while she was pacing back and forth and emphasizing points by gesturing in the air emphatically.

"Bells, first of all, calm down. Take deep breaths. You're going to give yourself a stroke."

Bella sat down on the bed and tried to take deep breaths but it wasn't calming her down. Angela was rubbing her back and running her fingers through her hair.

"So, let me make sure I understand what happened. You were sitting with your feet in Seth's lap and Edward came over acting like a Neanderthal while handing you a plate of food. You went in the basement to talk and he accused you of cheating on him with Seth. You told him Seth was gay. He told you he slept with his stylist one last time and you punched him in the face, told him not to follow you and that you were leaving him. Is that right?"

Bella nodded and started shaking a little.

"Bella, are you sure Edward said he slept with his stylist one last time? I just don't think he would do that to you."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what he said and he said it to get back at me for something as petty as talking to Seth more than I spoke to the twins!"

"Bella, if he fucked around on you with his stylist, I'll be the first one to hand him his balls on a platter. Just let me talk to Ben and see what we can find out."

"Great! Now, my best friend is second-guessing me, too. Okay. You go see what you can find out and I'll go hang out with my sister."

She jumped up and stormed out of the room leaving Angela's mouth hanging open in shock.

****DBW****

Alice started announcing some organized games

"Okay, kids! We're gonna play, _Red Light. Green Light_! Everybody go and get your checkered flags out of your backpacks and let's get started!"

The kids all screamed with excitement and ran towards the table that was now in the yard holding the party favors. They all had sugar highs from the candy that they had just gotten from the piñata.

Seth gathered them all together and settled them down, with difficulty. Then he went about the business of determining who the 'red light' was. He was eliminating kids through 'eeny, meeny, miny, moe.' Eventually, they got down to playing the game. The winner was getting a gift certificate to _Chuck E. Cheese_.

As the kids were playing, the clown was getting set up for his show. Amanda seemed oblivious to the fact that Edward and Bella were missing. She was having a good time surrounded by kids her age and didn't know of the turmoil that was brewing between the couple. Bella had taken the bandage off of her hand and was in the kitchen making more cookies.

Angela rushed over to Ben and pulled him to the side.

"Edward and Bella are fighting because he thought she was cheating on him with Seth. Bella punched Edward in the jaw because she thinks he slept with his hairdresser before he came here today. She's talking about leaving him after today."

Ben looked at her confused, "What? She thinks Edward is sleeping with Ishie? When the hell did this happen? Where is Edward?"

"I don't know but Bella is in the kitchen with one of Emmett's jerseys on and she's making cookies with swollen knuckles. She must be in pain but she's acting like it doesn't hurt and ignoring everybody. I've never even seen her quite this angry, not even when Phil gave up Amanda."

Ben jumped up to look for Edward. He walked over to Emmett and pulled him aside.

"Em, where is EJ?"

Rose piped up.

"I think he's in the basement holding a bag of frozen vegetables to his jaw. Somebody punched him."

Ben didn't even respond. He walked into the house and knocked on the basement door. When he didn't get an answer, he went to the wall that holds the keys in Carlisle's office and grabbed the key to the basement door.

He asked Angela to stay behind and she nodded okay. As he walked down the steps, he noticed the lights were off. He turned on the lights and saw the saddest sight he had seen involving his cousin since he's been an adult. He was laying in a ball on his side on the couch with the bag of vegetables laying over his face and holding his stomach. He smelled a distinct vomit smell and knew that his baby cousin was sick from whatever went down. He walked over to the mini-fridge and pulled out a bottle of water and a _Sprite_.

"EJ, it's Ben. You alright, cuz? You need me to get your dad for you?"

Edward didn't move.

"I'm alright. I just need to be alone for a minute, man. No offense."

Ben sat down on the table in front of him. He noticed the garbage pail, which was where the odor was emanating from, and he went to grab it to clean it out.

"Leave it, Ben. I'll clean it. I don't think I'm done, yet." His voice was raspy and Ben could tell he had been bawling.

He lifted the bag off his face and winced a little at the knuckle-shaped bruise on the bottom of his chin.

"EJ, I'm taking you home."

He sat up quickly.

"No! I have to play Amanda's lullaby and wish her a Happy Birthday with everyone else."

"Edward, you aren't in any shape to play anything. The only thing you're going to end up doing is making a scene from crying and begging Isabella to forgive you. I know you, cuz. Get up. I'm taking you home. Don't make me put you over my shoulder."

He grabbed Ben's shirt.

"Please don't make me leave. I won't make a scene. I'll behave. I'll leave on my own after I play the song for her."

Ben's heart broke for his cousin.

"You made a CD right?" Edward nodded.

"After Amanda opens it, I'll have Angie have the DJ play it just for her okay?"

Edward broke down and Ben just wrapped his arms around him and rocked him like a baby.

"It'll be alright man. You two just need a minute to sort things out."

"I'm supposed to be protecting them."

"They'll both be fine. I'll talk to Jasper. We got your back, cuz. They'll be safe. Just focus on you. You're not doing well."

Ben grabbed the waste basket and cleaned it out quickly in the basement's bathroom with Lysol. He grabbed a box of tissues and a couple of bottles of water to take with them. He gently shook Edward who had curled back up into a ball.

"Let's go, EJ. We're gonna get some air. Maybe we'll even stop and talk for a minute."

Edward slowly got up from the couch. He looked like the walking dead. Ben grabbed the bag of vegetables to put back in the freezer and grabbed an ice pack and a towel for their road trip.

When he got to the top of the steps, Emmett was standing there waiting. Ben left Edward in Emmett's care and he tossed the vegetables back in the freezer and replaced the keys to the basement. He went and told Angela he was taking Edward home and she nodded her understanding. She told him she could get a ride back with Carmen and to take his time.

As they were heading towards I-55 in his Suburban, Edward had curled up into a ball again and was staring out the window. Ben was getting a little frightened because he remembered catatonic six-year old Edward. He hadn't seen him like this since he started to snap out of it at eight years old.

"Edward, can you tell me what happened?"

Edward didn't answer right away. After five agonizing minutes, he finally said.

"I fucked up."

Ben decided to take a detour.

****DBW****

Bella kept replenishing the food quietly without making eye contact with anyone. She ignored the pain in her knuckles and in her chest. People were probably saying things to her as she walked past but she didn't really hear them. She hadn't seen Edward since she punched him. She thought she had heard someone mention he left. Maybe he had gone to have another romp with his stylist.

As she walked back into the kitchen for the fifth time, Alice stopped her.

"Bella, put that shit down and come with me."

Bella almost protested but the fierce look in Alice's eyes made her comply. She really didn't want to get into another fight. She didn't have the energy.

Alice pulled Bella into her room and closed the door. Rose and Angela were there.

"Okay. Angela told us what happened but I want to hear it from you. Why did you and Edward fight?"

Bella recounted the story and Alice stood there with her mouth agape.

"I don't believe it."

Bella grew angry.

"Of course you don't. That's your _beloved_ brother. I gotta go. It's time for Amanda to cut the cake."

Then she heard a stern voice say,

"Cut the bullshit, Swan and sit the fuck down!" Rose walked over and stood in front of the door.

Bella walked over and sat on the chaise and waited impatiently for this 'intervention' to be over. Rose continued,

"Bella, I don't know you well but I do know Edward. He wouldn't cheat on you…ever. When he loves somebody, he's one of the most loyal people I know. I think you might be misunderstanding something."

Bella snorted out a derisive laugh and started talking mostly to herself.

"I knew it. I knew a man that looked like him wouldn't want a woman that looked like me. Why would he? He can have any woman he wants. The only type of man I can get is an abuser. At least he didn't hit me. Hey! I'm moving up in the world."

Rose sat down next to her.

"What the fuck are you talking about, Bella? This whole thing started because he was jealous of how much time you spent with Seth today. He didn't say you cheated on him. He was just being a jealous asshole. Didn't you say he apologized for his assumption after you told him Seth was gay which, by the way, I'm pretty sure Seth told you in confidence?"

"Rose, he told me he let his stylist, who's in love with him and who he lost his virginity to, "hook him up" one last time before he told her he was going to stop seeing her just to get back at me."

Angela walked over,

"I think there might have been some miscommunication. "Hook me up" probably just meant that he let her style his hair or something. He probably just wanted you to understand what he felt like today watching you getting your feet rubbed by another man."

Alice walked over and sat next to her on the chaise.

"Edward is head over heels in love with you, Bella. He would not fuck around on you and then run home and tell you about it. He wouldn't hurt you like that. We're talking about the same man who put on a t-shirt two sizes too small with a fucking cartoon on it so he could match with his girlfriend and her baby sister today."

Rose added,

"He also stopped going to a stylist that he's been going to since he was eighteen years old because, from what you're telling us, she has feelings for him that he doesn't share. He did that for you."

"Another thing, Edward doesn't talk about what he does in bed with anybody. He never has. His theory is that people that talk about doing it all the time aren't really doing anything worth talking about. He is the most discreet man I've ever known, including my other brother, no offense Rose." Alice added.

Rose waved it off,

"I know Emmett talks about what we do in bed. That's what men do, except for Edward. I've never heard anything from Edward about what he does in bed with women. He gets all weird when people talk about sex around him. I don't even know why he's like that. He certainly didn't grow up in a prudish household, that's for sure. Esme and Carlisle can get pretty demonstrative with their affection with a few drinks in them."

Angela's face was red but she continued anyway,

"Edward caught Ben and me…having sex in the half-bath by Alice's wing."

Everybody looked at her with wide eyes.

"Well, he didn't see it but he heard it and asked whoever was in there to come out. When he saw Ben and didn't see me, he threatened Ben for cheating on me and called him "unfaithful" and "tacky." That doesn't sound like a man who would cheat on his woman and tell her about it to get even with her for something as petty as spending time with an old friend."

Bella sat there and absorbed everything the girls were saying to her. She knew they were right. She had just punched one of the best men she has ever known, besides her father, in the jaw. She just ran the man she was deeply in love with away from her and her baby sister.

When the gravity of what she had done dawned on her, the knuckles on her right hand started to throb with pain. It was like her anger was anesthesia and she could only feel the pain once it was gone. She grabbed her hand with the other one and began to sob from the combination of it and the loss.

Angela wrapped her up in a fierce hug and she wiped her tears.

"This is what you're gonna do, Bella. You're gonna go back upstairs and change back into the outfit that matches Amanda's, clean up your face and put on a little make up. You're gonna focus on Amanda because she deserves that from you and then you're gonna go make things right with Edward. I'm not saying he doesn't need to get that jealousy thing under control. I'm just saying you fucked up and you gotta put on your 'big girl' panties and face the music. I love you but you did. This insecurity you have about yourself and your looks has finally made you push a man that worships the ground you walk on away. That shit is not good."

Bella looked at her friend who only ever told her the truth and nodded.

"You're right. I did fuck up. I need to get my shit together and focus on Amanda right now. All the kids are going out to Evanston tonight right?"

Rose and Alice nodded.

"Okay. That means we'll have some privacy to talk this thing out." They all took turns hugging her.

Rose volunteered,

"I did the same shit once. I thought Em cheated on me with one of the Honey Bears. I showed up at Soldier Field, stormed into a locker-room full of naked men and punched his ass straight in the jaw. Security dragged me out and I went to live in a hotel. This was while I was pregnant with Emie. It was a mess. I realized I was wrong. It was one big misunderstanding, too. We worked it out. You two will work it out. I know you will. In fact, it was Edward who talked me into coming home. He's a good guy, Bella. He's probably beating himself up right now and making this whole thing his fault."

Bella winced because she knew Rose was right about how he blames himself for everything. Also, he's planning to go out to Dwight tomorrow to find out what this woman knows about the _Night Stalker _andshe didn't want him distracted because of her_. _She needed to get to Edward as soon as possible.

****DBW****

Bella did as she was told, by Angela. She went back up to Emmett's room and put back on her red halter top. She tried her best to fix her face and put on the waterproof mascara correctly that Alice had given her.

After she took a look at the finished product and felt that she had done the best she could do, she walked downstairs to find that the clown had already made balloon hats and animals for many of the kids and it was time to serve the cake. Alice grabbed Bella and they set up her candles on the sheet cake with _Mater_ on top.

The carried it out together and the DJ started out the "Happy Birthday" song and everybody else joined in. She was sitting at a long table flanked on either side by Nessie and Emily and was clapping happily watching her cake approach.

Bella tried to muster up as much enthusiasm as she could.

"Now, blow out the candles and make a wish, Manda Bear!"

She closed her eyes tightly, mumbling to herself excitedly and blew them out excitedly with Emily and Nessie's help. Then she looked around and burst out the question,

"Where's Edward?"

The whole crowd quieted down and some people started looking around.

Bella froze in place and Rose stepped forward.

"He got called out on important police work, sweetie, but he promised that tomorrow you and him will spend some time together, just you two."

Amanda nodded but looked a little sad. However, she quickly recovered as Alice and Bella started serving the cake. Bella walked quickly back into kitchen to get her ice cream cake with the _Mater_ and _Lightning McQueen_ figurines on top. She was trying to stop herself from crying. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and it was Shirley.

"What really happened, Bella? Why is your hand swollen?"

Bella sat down exhaustedly in one of the kitchen stools.

"I'm such an idiot! Things shouldn't have ever gotten this bad."

Shirley went and asked Alice to bring out the ice cream cake. She came back in the kitchen and scooted everyone else out. As she sat next to Bella, she really looked at her hand.

"Mmmmhmmm…You punched him."

Bella's eyes widened and she just held her head down and nodded.

Shirley got up and poured a glass of tap water and pulled an aspirin out of her purse for Bella and grabbed a bag of vegetables out of the freezer.

"It'll probably go down by tomorrow. It looks worse than it is. You had Carlisle look at it?"

Bella nodded, "He said it didn't seem broken or fractured."

"Bella, you're not the only woman in this family to snap a little. I was about your age I think and I was home with the babies all day while my husband was off doing his job. He was one of the few black officers on the force and he had a white female partner. It was like a little experiment in minority behavior." She chuckled a little. "They were being closely scrutinized and he was under a lot of stress."

She patted Bella's hand and continued.

"I felt he was pulling away from me but when I saw him with his partner he looked happy and they looked really close. I felt isolated, useless and helpless to losing my husband to someone more…interesting. It ticked me off, Isabella."

Bella looked at this woman with complete understanding of what she was saying.

"I was a country girl. I was born in Mississippi, in 1930. We moved to Chicago when I was a teenager and I married before I turned twenty. When I was first married, I was home alone with two babies most of the time. I was married in 1950, Carmen was born in 1951 and Edward followed in 1952. I was losing my little mind because my body was used to fresh air and country roads, not being cooped up and confined like I was. In Mississippi, we lived in constant fear of not knowing 'our place' but it was home for sixteen years of my life. Chicago wasn't that much better than the South as far as the attitudes towards black folks. It was just different."

Bella could imagine a young woman, newly married, with two babies used to fresh air and a different pace than the city feeling isolated.

"One day I snapped. I was sure he was messing around with this woman he was working with and I thought he was bringing danger to our doorstep and to our children because she was white. I went into the closet, pulled out one of his service revolvers, loaded it up and dropped my kids off at the neighbors. I was going down to shoot my husband, Henry."

Bella's eyes widened.

"Yep. I walked into the station and asked for him just as calmly, like I didn't have a gun under my coat. I remember I had on this heavy wool coat because it was freezing that day but I had it open. I didn't have enough presence of mind to button it up. I managed to bundle up the babies though. It just so happened that he hadn't left yet to go on patrol and he walked out to me with a big smile on the face asking where the babies were and I pulled a gun on him."

Bella could only imagine what her husband must've thought.

"Everybody else pulled a gun on me, except my Henry. I had tears streaming down my face but I wasn't really crying. All he kept saying was he loved me and he was begging me to put the gun down before I got shot down. The woman he worked with finally grabbed me from behind and took the gun out of my hand; her name was Beverly. She actually came to be one of my good friends. She handcuffed me but she didn't book me. They put us in an interrogation room and let us talk. I could've easily been shot to death but people really liked Henry Masen so they spared my life."

Bella didn't really know what to say in response to that.

"I know now that I was probably suffering from Post-partum Depression. Anyway, Henry and I really started communicating then. He tried his best to be home more often and not work so late. He would just take the kids for a day and let me have the day to myself. He started asking me what I wanted to do with my life. That's when I told him I wanted to start my own little restaurant. He never told me it wasn't possible or I was being crazy. He just started talking to people about helping me with my dream. I guess he already knew I could cook."

She smiled and Bella laughed.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is. I understand being cooped up for two weeks, fearing for your life, taking care of a child and feeling insecure about your relationship can make you a little…crazy. I'm sorry but that's the word."

They both just chuckled.

"So, you're just one of a long line of women that have threatened the men they love in this family. Carmen chased Richard around the house with a butcher knife because he said dinner was too cold. He moved in with me for a couple of days behind that craziness. I don't know what was wrong with that girl. Don't sweat it. I mean, it's not okay to hit and threaten but we still love you. Just know that he's feeling just as insecure as you are right now."

Shirley patted her hand and left.

Enrique walked in and looked at Bella's hand. He took off the frozen vegetable bag and picked it up, really examining it.

"Has anyone ever showed you how to protect your thumb when you throw a punch?"

Bella gasped and shook her head no. She had taken self-defense classes but they had showed her open hand thrusts and how to use her legs, feet and knees mostly. He motioned for her to stand up. She stood up and he gently kicked her legs apart and positioned her hips so that she could pronate easily.

"It's good that you have on heels. It actually helps you not to have flat feet when you box."

He grabbed her hands and showed her where to position her elbows and how to protect her head and face.

"When you throw a punch, you always place your thumb outside of your fist, not inside. Tucking your thumb inside your fist is a good way to fracture your hand and break your thumb. Let me show you."

He stood next to her and showed her how to hold her hand level to her wrist and arm while showing her the proper placement of her thumbs.

Bella complied but still wondered why he was showing her how to punch Edward better.

"I guess you're wondering why I'm showing you this."

She nodded.

"Edward loves you, would never intentionally hurt you and would protect you with his life. I hope I see you two together for a long time but if you end up having to protect Amanda by yourself, I want you to know how to throw a punch hard enough and effective enough to get away. You understand?"

Bella nodded and let Enrique instruct her a little more. He hugged her before he left the kitchen and said he hoped to see her back at the loft.

Embry, Bella's agent, came in the kitchen and sat next to her. They had hugged and caught up earlier when she was talking to Seth. In fact, Embry and Seth seemed to really hit it off.

"So, you've had a really long day, huh?"

She nodded silently.

"Explaining where Edward is sounds a little like the bullshit I've been spreading about who I am. Trying to protect your anonymity is a bitch and, it seems that, you are too." He chuckled and bumped her shoulder.

She laughed and bumped him back. He tucked her hair behind her ear.

"So, are you gonna go back out there or are we gonna have to bring the party in here?"

She smiled at him and he held out his hand for her to take.

When she walked back into the yard it was a quarter to five and they were watching _Cars_. Bella walked over to Alice and asked her if she could help clean up. Alice shook her head and put her arm around Bella's shoulders.

"I hired a clean-up crew. You don't have to do anything but go hang out with your baby sis."

Bella leaned her head on Alice's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Ali. I didn't mean to snap at you earlier."

"That's alright, slugger. We all have our moments. The only thing I need you to do is make sure my brother is alright." She said she would through teary eyes and Alice admonished her to cut out all that crying because this was supposed to be a happy day for Amanda.

Bella went and sat next to Amanda on the grass after she pulled herself together. Amanda leaned on her shoulder and asked,

"Why didn't Edward say good-bye before he left?" Bella hugged her tightly and said.

"He was in such a hurry he didn't really have much time to say good-bye to anybody." She felt horrible for lying but telling her the truth meant exposing Rose's lie. Rose was only trying to help her and she wouldn't make her look bad like that when it was her fault she had to come up with it in the first place.

"This has been a fun day, Bella Boo. I never thought so many people cared about me. Look at all of those presents!"

Bella squeezed her around the shoulders.

"How could anyone know you and not love you to death? You're the most lovable girl in the whole world. We're going to open a few presents here and then we'll take the rest…home and open them later."

Bella and Amanda finished watching the movie on the big screen together. Amanda was eating a piece of her ice cream cake and quoting the lines of the movie. Bella heard there was a _Cars 2_ movie coming out soon, to her chagrin. Damn Disney! She was mentally shaking her fist at them.

After the movie was over, Bella let Amanda pick out six small gifts that she could carry on her own into the house to open.

She excitedly picked out what she wanted to open and Bella saw that Edward's CD and framed music sheets were a part of the batch. She panicked inside. Angela came up to her and whispered in her ear.

"Ben called. We're gonna have the DJ play the song so everybody can hear it. Don't worry."

Jasper came to stand beside her. She immediately felt calmer. He put his arm around her shoulder.

"Emmett and I are gonna help you haul all Amanda's birthday presents home and return Shirley's truck. It's up to you which home you want to take them to. Okay? No pressure."

Bella nodded quickly so she wouldn't tear up again. He patted her on the back and walked away.

Of course the first present she opened was from Edward. Bella's wrapped books were in the pile, too, but it was pretty obvious what they were to Amanda. Bella got her books every year and she loved them but she wanted to see what her angel bought her. She opened up the smaller square package first giggling at the haphazardly wrapped present with the crudely tied bow.

She pulled out the shiny case and looked at the CD which had her face etched on it and it read, "Amanda's Lullaby."

She squealed and handed it to Bella jumping up and down.

"Can I hear it?"

Bella laughed and handed it to Angela who took it to the DJ to play throughout the house.

All the kids were milling around eating cookies and watching her open the package with the picture frame when the music started. Amanda stopped mid-action and became stock still. She closed her eyes as the music played and she unconsciously started swaying from side to side. The melody was dramatic and vibrant in the beginning but started to slow down towards the middle and finally came to an intensely emotional, yet tenderly soft, close. It lasted all of four minutes but the whole room seemed like it had been in a trance for an hour. Some of the children had even fallen asleep in their parents' arms. Amanda opened her eyes and ran towards Bella.

"Can I call Edward and say thanks, please?" She was holding her picture framed music to her chest like it was the Hope Diamond.

Esme was looking at Bella and Amanda with tears in her eyes and Carlisle had a small smile on his face. Bella swallowed back her own tears and said,

"Let's open up your other gifts and then we'll call Edward together, okay?"

She smiled big and hurriedly went over to open the gifts. Bella had to slow her down and she read the cards out loud as they opened up books, gift certificates, DVDs and someone actually bought her a kindle. After Bella read the card, she looked up at Peter and Charlotte who were leaning against each other on the couch smiling at Bella. She mouthed thank you and they both nodded at her. Peter had also bought her some _Leap Frog_ programs he thought she would enjoy.

Bella was happy that everyone seemed to adore Amanda from the moment they met her.

****DBW****

Ben pulled his Suburban into the parking lot of _T.G.I. Fridays_, a chain restaurant that actually served pretty good drinks and appetizers. He didn't want to take Edward all the way into the city. Bella and Alice were staying in Naperville while Jasper and Edward drove out to Dwight. Edward hadn't told him why yet but the only person he knew Edward would be motivated to drive downstate to talk to was Jane Volturi. He watched the havoc the Volturi family wreaked on his so he knew that Edward must've had a very good reason to speak with her.

When the cousins entered the establishment, the hostess looked up and gasped. She looked to be in her last year of high school or her early years of college. Ben smiled at her and she stared at his wedding ring dejectedly.

Ben looked to Edward and didn't know where he was right now, mentally. He wasn't looking at anything in particular, seemingly lost in his head. Even with his bruised face, the faraway look in his eyes, and the cartoon t-shirt the hostess' eyes perused him from head to toe with yearning. Ben laughed and shook his head at how unaware his cousin was of the female attention he received so he spoke up.

"Hello, little miss. I know you guys are busy on weekends but if we could get a booth so we could have a private conversation that would be great. I'm a great tipper." He winked at her and she giggled. She seemed like a nice kid.

"No problem. We're not _that _busy tonight. Follow me."

He figured she was telling the truth because there was no one waiting for a seat in the leather seating by the entry door and there were very few people at the bar. He had been to this particular restaurant quite a few times. Some of the staff knew him by name and knew he was a cop but he wouldn't accept anything for free, "police discounts," or anything else."

Their seating was pretty far away from the more populated areas. Ben and Edward sat down and Edward immediately laid his head down on the table.

"EJ, man, please sit up. You don't want to put your face on this table. They try to keep it clean but that can't be very hygienic for anybody." Edward lifted his head like it was a chore and leaned it against the back of the high booth.

The waiter came over and set their menus down, reciting his introduction spiel.

"I'm David. I'll be your waiter this evening. Would you like drinks and any appetizers to start? Oh! Hi, Detective Nelson."

Ben closed both of the menus, handed them back to the waiter and pulled out a $50 dollar bill and placed it in the kid's hand. It looked like he was having a slow night and he really liked this kid. He had waited on him a few times before.

"I just want a _Pepsi,_ David, and can you bring my cousin here a black coffee and keep them coming. Also, I'd like an order of chicken fingers and two plates. Take your time. We're not in a hurry on the food but if you could bring the drinks right out that would be great."

David's eyes lit up from the tip and he nodded excitedly.

"I'll get those drinks out right away!"

He scurried away and Ben laughed at his excitement. Edward snickered a little, which made Ben whip his head around and focus his attention on him.

"You always tip way too much, you big ole softie."

"It's alive!" He said jokingly. Edward laughed at him and gave him a half-hearted finger.

"So, what happed, EJ? Last night you two looked like you were doing fine, more than fine. Didn't you talk to Jacob about marrying her today? Why is it World War 3 now?"

Edward lightly ran his finger over the place where Bella hit him. He pushed his finger into one spot and winced. Then he started laughing.

"I guess I should have ducked."

Ben rolled his eyes, gesturing with his hands for him to continue.

"I went to Ishie to get my hair cut, washed and twisted, like I normally do. Erica chewed me out because she just found out recently that I slept with her sister. She told me that Ishie had feelings for me. What she actually told me she was that she was in love with me and Aisha confirmed it. We agreed that we needed to stop interacting with each other as much as we do. It's not fair to her because of how she feels."

Ben shrugged, "Okay. I'm still trying to understand why that deserves you getting knocked the hell out. Angela said you told Bella you slept with her. I thought the last time you had that type of relationship with Ishie was like three years ago, not that you tell me shit without me interrogating your secretive ass?"

"I haven't! I guess it's the way I said what I said. I swear to God all I wanted to do was make her understand why I was so upset about seeing her getting her feet rubbed by that Seth dude and…"

Ben interrupted him.

"Why the fuck did another dude have his hands on your woman?"

Edward's head snapped up and he pounded his hand on the table.

"See! That's what I said! She told me it was because her feet were hurting from standing in her heels and he was just being nice or some shit. Then she told me that the man is gay, which made me feel like a complete ass for snapping at her."

Ben's brows furrowed as the waiter set down the drinks.

David was still beaming from the tip. He gave him a small plate with lemon wedges along with his _Pepsi_. He also brought a carafe of coffee instead of a single cup with creamers. The straw in Ben's drink still had the tip of the straw cover on. He had given them napkins and extra glasses with water and ice with extra straws. He chuckled because he knew he was getting the best service this guy had to offer for that tip. That's why he always tipped so well. He didn't want anybody that served him food and drink pissed at him. Who knows what "extra" stuff would be in his food if he didn't treat the wait staff well.

"Thanks, David. We appreciate it, man."

He nodded and smiled as he walked away to give them some privacy.

"So, when did she clock you and how the fuck were you supposed to know Seth was gay? Was he wearing a sign or some shit?"

He grimaced from the memory.

"The way I phrased things may have given her the impression that I slept with Ishie today. Before I could explain myself, she punched me in the jaw."

Ben looked at him stoically, trying not to laugh hysterically at the mental image of the little princess balling up her fist and reaching her 5'2" frame up far enough to punch 6'1" Edward in the jaw.

"What did you say, EJ?"

"I don't remember exactly but it involved me saying that I let Ishie "hook me up" one last time. I was only talking about my hair and the shave and shit. I wasn't talking about sex, for God's sake. I wasn't _supposed_ to know Seth was gay but I was supposed to trust her. I don't know why I can't control this jealously shit, Ben. It's never been this bad before."

"EJ, you've never been in love like this before. Am I right?"

Edward nodded yes solemnly. At that moment, the chicken fingers arrived with extra garnish on the plate, a side of fries, extra dipping sauces of different varieties, two plates and extra napkins. David looked around the table anxiously for something else to do. Ben and Edward chuckled at his enthusiasm.

"Do you guys need anything else, any ketchup or anything?"

"Thanks, David. We have everything we need, man. Just check on us to make sure we still have a pulse occasionally." Ben winked at him and David smiled as he walked away.

"Oh, and I was also told today that winking, like we do, is a problem. It causes crushes and generally is a chaos inducing facial tic."

"What? Get the fuck out of here! Who said that shit, Erica?"

Edward laughed because Ben and Erica always got into the most nonsensical debates when they were younger.

"You know she did. She was angry man. I can't understand that shit for the life of me. She had already been with Mo for two years when I was with Aisha. What the fuck does she have to be upset about?"

"You know how it is, man. She probably felt that boyfriends and ex-boyfriends are off limits between sisters. It doesn't make any sense but it's a sister thing, I think."

Edward closed his eyes in exasperation and leaned his head back against the booth.

"EJ, drink some of your coffee and eat one of these chicken fingers. Do you want anything else? Maybe they have some soup or something. Your stomach must be empty." He started looking around for David but Edward stopped him before the solicitous waiter could respond.

"I'm good. These chicken fingers are fine. I'll take one."

Ben smiled because it looked like Edward was back from his earlier state.

"Sooo, how did you end up curled up in a ball in the basement?"

The sadness came back into Edward's eyes as he ate his chicken fingers slowly.

"She told me she was leaving me after the party." Tears rolled down his cheeks and he reached up and wiped them away quickly in surprise.

"What the fuck is this, Ben? I can't control myself at all when it comes to this woman. She scares the shit out of me sometimes and now, I may never see her again. How am I supposed to protect her from the _Night Stalker_ now? Am I supposed to turn her protection over to Jasper? I don't think so! I mean, I'm not trying to take anything away from him but that is my…she is my…they are my world, Ben."

Ben felt everything Edward was saying deeply. He couldn't even muster up the energy to tease him for the waterworks. He would be doing the same thing if his Angie said she was leaving. The intensity of what he felt for her scared him sometimes, too.

Edward pounded his hand on the table making everything on it and Ben jump, snapping him out of his thoughts of Angela.

"I'm going back! That is my family. I'm not letting her go. She just has to be pissed at me." He quickly started to eat the rest of the chicken fingers and the fries.

Ben smiled at him because he really was cute sometimes. He remembered when he was three and used to play drums with the circular _Quaker Oatmeal_ boxes. He was only seven at the time himself but Edward had always been _his_ baby cousin. He really adored him no matter how much shit they talked to each other.

"Slow down, EJ. The food is not going anywhere. You're gonna choke and I don't want to have to do the Heimlich on your ass."

"Yes, mother." Ben smiled but was still nervous about how quickly he was eating

Edward stopped to take a breath and looked up.

"Thanks for earlier, Ben. You didn't have to clean up my mess, man. I appreciate it."

He waved him off.

"Well, if you had shit yourself, I would've called your mother or father down there but it was just vomit, so it was okay."

Edward made a disgusted face.

"Nice talk when someone is eating, Ben. Good job!"

Edward pushed his plate away and Ben happily took it and finished his food while Edward laughed at him and shook his head.

"I don't know why everyone always calls me an ass. You're a much bigger pain in the ass than I've ever been."

Ben snorted out a laugh.

"Not true. Exhibit A. - Your black eye."

Edward genuinely laughed.

"I do not have a black eye, you ass."

"Black eye, bruised jaw – same deal. Okay, I'll take you back but you have to promise me you're going to act like you have good sense and not embarrass the hell out of your parents and Amanda. This is her party."

Edward nodded in agreement and then his phone rang and he jumped because he forgot he had it. His eyes widened when he saw the caller I.D. and heard the "Simply Beautiful" ring tone.

"I-It's Isabella."

Ben raised his eyebrows and said with his mouth full, to Edward's disgust,

"Answer it, idiot."

Edward glared at him and answered the call tentatively.

"Isabella?"

There was a slight pause that he was sure made his heart rate spike.

"Edward, Amanda wants to thank you for the song." Edward swallowed hard because she didn't sound as angry as she did before but she still had a cold edge to her voice.

"Okay." That was the only thing he could make his larynx utter. There was another pause and then he heard an excited little voice come on the line.

"Hi, Edward! Thank you sooo much! I'm so sorry you had to leave because of work. I LOVED the song. It was pretty! Can I play it every night before I go to bed?" He swallowed hard trying not to let it enter his voice that tears were streaming down his face.

"You're very welcome, sweetie pie. I'm sorry I couldn't be there, either. Of course you can play it every night before you go to bed. It's your song. You can play it anytime you want."

"_I can't believe you made a song just for me." _She whispered into the phone_. "Don't tell Bella Boo but it's my favorite gift ever!"_

He laughed while wiping his face.

"I'm so glad you liked it, hon, and your secret is safe with me."

"_Will you be home before we leave for Evan's son?" _It felt like a knife was being twisted around in his heart.

"Uhhmmm…I'm not really sure, yet, sweetie pie and it's Evanston. Can I speak to your sister again?"

"_Okey dokey. Bye, daddy!"_ There it was. He was officially dead. That was the final twist needed to completely break his heart if Isabella wasn't willing to hear him out.

"_Hello." _Her voice sounded a lot less cold so he seized the opportunity.

"Isabella, I'm sorry about what went down and how it went down but you can't leave until we talk this out. I can't let you leave like this. I love you and it can't be this easy for us to be over. I'm coming back. Will you wait for me?"

"_Yes, I will. You're right. We do need to talk."_

He almost didn't say good-bye before he closed his phone and slid out of the booth.

"Come on, Ben. I want to get back before she changes her mind."

Ben chuckled as he watched his cousin rush out the door. David, the waiter, rushed over apologetically.

"Is everything okay? Did he want some more coffee or something?"

Ben laughed and said,

"No, he's just in a hurry to get home. You did good. Can I get the check?"

David reached in his pocket and pulled out the leather case with the receipt inside.

Ben paid with cash and gave him $20 more dollars. David's eyes widened.

"Give the hostess a little somethin' somethin' for seating us so quickly, please."

David smiled and then looked like he was vacillating about what he was about to do.

"Uhhh, Detective Nelson, the hostess wanted me to give your cousin this."

He handed Ben a piece of receipt paper with her name and number written on it with a little heart dotting the "i" in the name "Stephanie."

Ben chuckled and said,

"My cousin is damn near married, David, but I'll give him the message."

The waiter let out a breath of relief and nodded. Ben walked pass the hostess, winked at her and said good-bye and thank you, as he walked out the door. She blushed out of embarrassment and said good-bye shyly.

Edward was shifting anxiously from foot to foot holding on to the door handle on the passenger side. As soon as the remote unlocked the doors, he jumped in and put on his seatbelt. Ben laughed outright holding his stomach and climbed in.

"You are whipped, EJ. I can't even hold that shit in, anymore."

"Whatever, man. Let Angela tell you she's leaving you and see how you act."

Ben sobered up then. He already missed her and they had only been gone a little over an hour. Edward was right. He would probably act a complete nut.

"Oh, the hostess, Stephanie, wants you to give her a call sometime." He handed the paper to Edward with a huge mischievous grin on his face.

Edward looked at the paper like it was a snake.

"Are you crazy? Keep that shit as far away from me as possible."

Ben laughed, crumpled the paper and threw it in his ash tray. Then visions of him explaining to Angela why another woman's number was in the ashtray flooded his brain. He tossed that paper out the window, as he drove away.

Edward laughed, "Look at you littering, Detective Nelson. Couldn't wait to get that shit out of your ride, huh?"

Ben laughed and nodded.

"I gotta ask you, cuz. I've been dying to know since I found out you were messing around with Aisha. What was that like? She is fine as hell."

Edward shifted around in his seat uncomfortably and tried to change the subject.

"Ben, wasn't that half-bath kind of small to mess around in."

Ben laughed looking a little sheepish.

"There was enough room for what we had to do. We're so sorry, dawg. We were a little out of control but don't change the subject. How _does_ that booty work?"

"Ben! I don't talk about that shit, dawg. That's why I've only been knocked out by a woman once and that was a misunderstanding that I'm about to correct."

"EJ, I'm your cousin, the man that cleaned up your vomit today. You can't even tell me?"

Edward laughed at the desperation in voice.

"Nope. I don't betray confidences and I don't talk about what I do in bed. I will say this. I wish Isabella would've been my first but, since I didn't know her then, I'm glad it was Aisha."

Ben glared at him.

"Damn! Oh well. I guess I'll never know, unless I knock your ass out with some truth serum."

Edward laughed,

"It's not even that serious, man. I'll put it like this, sometimes, when you're single, you just gotta have it. It was nice to have somebody I cared about to call on. But sex is much better when you really love somebody and you're committed to them. You know that as much as I do now I'm assuming, Mr. Half-bath."

Ben feigned anger but that shit was kind of funny.

"You're a weird guy, cuz. Most men wouldn't be able to wait to brag about what they've done with some of the women you've been with, including Bella."

Edward glared at Ben.

"Calm down, dawg. I'm just sayin'. She's gorgeous."

Edward's brows furrowed as they pulled up to the Cullen's gate, entered the code and started up the driveway.

"Try telling her that. She doesn't believe she's beautiful or that I could really love her the way I do. She's been in a couple of fucked up relationships and I think that's part of the reason why we ended up like this today."

"Yeah, Angie told me about the one she had her cousins put a scare into in Seattle."

Edward smiled at him.

"So, you two do talk between bathrooms."

Ben punched him in the shoulder.

"Keep it up. You really are gonna have a black eye."

Edward put up his hands in surrender laughing.

Most of the cars had gone and there were only a few left that he recognized.

They walked in the door and saw that the great room and the deck were empty and the cleaning crew was straightening up.

"Hold on a minute. I need to tell them to pay particular attention to the half-bath by Alice's wing."

Ben grabbed him in a choke hold.

"Say something else. I'm gonna snap off this pretty head."

"Okay. Okay. So sensitive!"

Just as Ben released him, Alice came around the corner. She immediately hugged Edward and he bent down and squeezed her back. She kissed Ben on the cheek.

"_Slugger_ is downstairs with Rose, Angela and everybody else."

Edward rolled his eyes at Isabella's new sobriquet. They would never live this shit down.

"Mae Mae, can you go get her and ask her to meet me in my room. I would go down and get her but I don't want to disrupt the party with my assholery."

She held out her hand, palm up.

"How much?"

He smooched her palm and she twisted her face in disgust and wiped her hand on a napkin.

"Okay, I'll go get her. You better make this right, Edward!" She poked him in the chest.

"I'll try, little one."

Ben patted him on the shoulder and joined the party downstairs. Edward went up to his room and waited for whatever was coming next. He said a little prayer that they could resolve this and that she would stay. A few minutes later, he heard a timid knock on the door.

****DBW****

"Come on in, ba…Isabella."

She walked in slowly with her head down and closed the door. He hated that she had her head down. His heart propelled him forward to meet her and he lifted her chin.

When her eyes finally met his, she gasped and they became teary. She reached out and touched his bruised jaw. His eyes closed in relief at her touch and he blew out a sigh of contentment. There wasn't even any pain in it. He grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the bed and let her sit down while he pulled a chair over to sit in front of her.

She looked down again.

"I'll let you talk first." She said softly.

"Okay. How are you? You look tired." He tentatively pushed her hair behind her ears so he could see her lovely face and caught her eyes.

She let out a little laugh.

"It's been a long day."

She continued, "I'm sorry I hit you. That was wrong. I don't know what came over me."

He chuckled, "I think it was anger."

Her face was completely serious when she said, "I'm an abuser! I did exactly what those two idiots did to me to you." She started crying hard. "Are you gonna leave me now?"

His heart and mind were flooded with so many emotions. Technically, she was right. She shouldn't have put her hands on him that way because he would never do that to her and it was just…wrong. However, based on what she was thinking he did, he could understand her reaction. He wiped her tears.

"I should be asking you the same thing. You think I had sex with my stylist before I came back here today because of the way it came out of my stupid mouth. I haven't been with anybody but you, Isabella. I wouldn't hurt you like that. I would hurt myself before I hurt you. Don't you know that? I was just trying, poorly, to get you to feel what I was feeling today looking at you with Seth. It came out all wrong and it was really stupid."

"Edward, I swear before God that I will never do that again. I know that's what all people that hit say but I will not let myself get that out of control again."

"Baby, I know this might sound a little chauvinistic but you didn't do any major damage. I have been hit much harder by professional boxers and I didn't go down. This bruise is nothing. Where you really hit me is my heart. If you promise never to threaten to leave me again over something this silly, that'll make me feel much better."

She said through sniffles, "You called me 'baby.'"

"I'm sorry. I meant to say Isabella." He looked genuinely worried and contrite.

"You can call me 'baby.' I was such an idiot for reacting the way I did. I physically can't leave you. I was just talking out of anger. I know you love me but you have to start trusting me, Edward. I wouldn't disrespect you and flirt with another guy like that. There's no reason for you to be jealous of any other man. I wouldn't hurt you like others have." It dawned on him at that point that a lot of his reaction was probably due to being cheated on like he was in the past.

"Okay. So we both have issues and we both made mistakes."

Bella laughed and nodded.

"So, can I get a hug?"

She nodded and he pulled her tightly against him and they both let out a sigh. Electricity passed through them and heated them both inside, thawing the chill from their fight. He breathed in her strawberry scent and tried to hold her even tighter.

"Edward! I can't breathe." He released her quickly and she giggled. He looked at her swollen knuckles and his brow furrowed.

"Have you been icing this? Did you take a pain pill?"

She reached up and touched his face with her swollen hand.

"It's not so bad."

"Can I kiss you, Isabella?" She attacked his mouth before the question was even out. He felt a little pain in his jaw but he didn't care. He was feeling much more pleasure than pain at the moment. It quickly escalated into something more. Before they could register what was happening they were moaning and panting into each other's mouths and half of their clothing was removed.

She moaned out his name as he gently picked her up and laid her down in the center of his childhood bed. They were both sans shirt and she sat up and straddled his lap as he pulled her closer to him. He moaned from the feeling of her hardened nipples and the soft feel of her flesh against his skin.

"Baby, lay back down for a minute." He demanded through pants.

She did as he asked and he unfastened her jeans pulling them down over her hips as she lifted them to accommodate him. She had on black lace boy shorts and he could see the curly hairs above where he wanted to be most. He groaned deeply and buried his face between her legs breathing her in. He became overwhelmed with the idea that he almost lost this – her smell, her taste, her wetness. He ripped her panties down her legs.

"Isabella, you can't ever take this away from me. I need you. I need this like I need air." He sucked her lips into his mouth like he had kissed her mouth earlier.

She moaned and fisted the sheets.

"Fuck me!"

He looked up at her and she opened her eyes.

"Fuck me. Please!" She was begging and she was so wet it was pouring down her thighs.

"Shit, baby."

He didn't even take his pants all the way off before he pushed into her and they both tried to stifle their moans. She buried her face in his neck and he in her hair.

She pulled his pants the rest of the way down with her feet but she couldn't get them over his boots and she growled in frustration. He wasn't about to break his connection with her. Fuck that. He put her legs over his shoulders and kissed her calves and licked the inside of her thighs before he almost pulled all the way out and slammed back into her.

"Fuuck!"

"Baby, you can't be as loud as you normally are. Anybody could come up here at any time."

She groaned in frustration and he cradled her face with his hands and kissed her absorbing her moans as he slammed into her over and over again. She would meet his every thrust with her hips and tighten her pussy walls around him and his eyes rolled back in his head. He could've come just from how she tightened up on him and released him without her moving at all. Adding her hips rotating against him, the sounds she made, her heartbeat against his chest, her wetness, the sounds their bodies made when they slapped together, the sweat and how tightly her hands were gripping his hair to the mix just intensified everything he felt. This wasn't love-making. This was fucking but the intense love he felt for her never left no matter what.

"Open your eyes, Isabella."

"Fuck, I love it when you command me to do shit."

Her walls tightened and he felt her orgasm coming.

"Don't you dare fucking come, yet."

She whimpered because she was so close and then a dark look passed over her eyes.

"What are you gonna do about it if I do?"

He stilled inside of her and peered deeply into her eyes. He had noticed before that when she was close to orgasm, he could really see the gold flecks surrounding her irises. That's what he was seeing now, even in the darkness of the room. He started to pull out of her inch by inch and her eyes widened.

"What are you doing?"

He smiled down at her and slowly licked and sucked on that spot right above her collar bone that she loved.

She was a panting beautiful mess.

"Stopping."

"What?"

He pulled completely out of her to his utter dismay. Every molecule of his body wanted to pound into her until she came right at that moment. He just didn't want it to be over this quickly. Plus, he liked being in control of her body – his body. She was _his_. He didn't want her to forget that shit any time soon. Gay or not, that motherfucker shouldn't have been touching and rubbing on his girl.

He disentangled her hands from his hair. She whimpered and tried to push him back inside of her with her legs.

He shook his head no and scooted himself to the edge of the bed to finish taking off his pants and his boots.

"Edward!"

He didn't respond and she huffed out a breath in anger and pounded her little fists on the bed.

He pulled off his boots and his pants and turned to look at her. She was flushed pink and red all over her body. Her dusty pink nipples were hardened and erect and she was breathing heavily in and out with her arm over her eyes. He crawled back over her body and hovered over her.

He was so hard and on edge himself he probably could've come if she just breathed on him, or slightly touched him. So, he had an idea.

"What did you ask a few seconds ago?"

She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth where they were captured by her teeth and wrapped her warm legs around the small of his back and reached out to stroke his cock. He whimpered inside but managed to slap her hands away. She pouted and said,

"Nothing."

He chuckled.

"No, I think you asked me something."

"Edward! If you don't want to finish what you started, I can finish by myself."

He tsked at her and waggled his finger from left to right in front of her face.

"See, there's that little temper of yours." He leaned down and nibbled on her neck all the while keeping her hands away from him by holding both of her wrists above her head with one hand.

She moaned loudly.

"Edward! Please don't play with me."

"I thought you wanted to play. You gave me a little challenge."

She dropped her legs from around his back and she tried to grind her sex against his thigh looking for release. His eyes rolled into the back of his head from the feel of her wetness on his body.

"See. Stop playing. You need this as much as I do." She purred out.

He let go of her hands and backed off the bed and she sat up.

"Where are you going?"

He bent down and pulled the leather belt off of his pants and her eyes widened.

"Edward, you better not _think_ about hitting me with that belt."

He held the belt in front of him, bent it in even halves, and slapped them together by holding it on either end causing a loud popping sound to slice through the air.

Her eyes widened and he smiled as he crawled back over her body and kneeled with his legs on both sides of her.

"You like to hit people, huh?"

She shook her head no quickly and he grabbed her wrist, picked her up and placed her closer to the headboard, being mindful of her bruised hand.

"You're saying no but I have the bruise to prove it."

"Edward, I.."

He put a finger to her lips and leaned into her ear.

"Ssssssh. Don't talk."

She squirmed underneath him and moaned as he grabbed her wrists again and tied them together tightly with the belt.

"Maybe I should tie your legs down, too"

"Edward, w-what are you doing? I said I was sorry."

He turned her over and smacked her left ass cheek and smiled as it jiggled and turned pink. He bent down and kissed the spot softly and turned her back over. She was licking her lips and staring at his.

"I told you to be quiet."

She nodded quietly.

He gazed at the body he longed for all the time from head to toe.

"Isabella, you are a beautiful fucking woman. Do you know that?"

She shook her head no and shrugged.

"You will. Right now I want to make a point."

He kissed her stomach.

"Who does this belong to, Isabella?"

"You."

"I can't hear you?"

"You!"

He continued asking the same question as he kissed and licked all over her body. He even kissed her under her arms and under her breasts. When he came to her feet, he kissed and sucked on each toe and she was mumbling, begging him to stop one second and begging him to never stop the next.

"And these are my feet, right Isabella?"

She nodded vigorously.

"Fuck, yeah, they are!" He blew on her instep and he swore she came but he couldn't confirm it because she was still squirming like she was on the edge.

He turned her over and started all over again, kissing and licking down her spine and over the cheeks of her bottom and the back of her legs. He rubbed his cock over the crack of her ass and she gasped. He laughed to himself because he wasn't thinking what she thought he was thinking.

"You still don't seem to trust me very much."

She looked back at him apologetically. He pulled her up onto her knees by her hips and rubbed his cock over the wetness of her thighs. He stopped himself from slamming into her by bending down, latching his mouth onto her clitoris and sucking on it after he whispered in her ear.

"Let go, baby. I know you need to."

She moaned out, "Fuck yes! I need that shit."

Just as she was coming down from her high he slammed into her and she screamed out.

"Son of a bitch, that feels good!"

He completely agreed but whispered in her ear to quiet down a little.

He ground into her from behind as he released her hands. He pulled her back as close to his chest as he could and she reached behind and pushed her hands into his hair.

"I fucking love you, Edward."

"I love you too, puddin'."

He thrust and bit down on her shoulder through his release as he thrust into her one last time. All the love, lust, frustration, fear, and the other emotions he felt that day spilled inside her, mostly love.

They collapsed together on the bed.

****DBW****

After their breathing returned to normal and they were lying in each other's arms, Bella asked.

"That was…intense." Bella stated between breaths.

He rolled over and looked at her worried.

"I didn't scare you again, did I?"

She laughed.

"No, you didn't scare me at all, except when you pulled that damn belt out."

"I was just playing around, baby. I wouldn't ever hit you with a belt. Well, unless you wanted me to tap you a little." He smiled at her timidly because he was still worried about the status of their relationship.

She laughed and shook her head no.

"Flashbacks of my Grandma Swan chasing me with my grandpa's belt came back to me. No thanks on the tapping."

She looked a little bashful when she continued,

"I did like what you did with it, though."

He laughed.

"Yeah, I got that impression"

They held on to each other tightly.

"So, are we okay, baby? You're not gonna leave me are you?"

She shook her head no and snuggled even closer to him.

"Do you want to go down to the party?"

He shook his head no.

"You can go, if you want to. I think I'm gonna call it a night because I have to drive tomorrow." He kissed her hands and her forehead.

He closed his eyes because he was already drifting off to sleep.

"Edward."

He opened his eyes quickly and gazed into hers.

"I trust you." He smiled and placed his hand on her cheek.

"I trust you, too, baby. I just can't promise I won't ever get jealous again. I'm working on it."

She shrugged.

"That's all I can ask of you."

He started to fall asleep again but she called him again and he opened his eyes.

"The lullaby was beautiful. Esme cried."

He smiled.

"She hasn't heard me play in a while."

They fell asleep in each others' arms exhausted and bruised physically and emotionally from the day, their heartbeats commingling like their bodies had earlier. Their hearts knew what their minds couldn't seem to grasp; they would love each other until they both took their last breath.

****DBW****

_**A/N: I just want to take a moment and comment on Shirley's story. I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with Tom Cruise (lol) and say Post-partum Depression is a real sickness and it needs to be treated, sometimes with therapy and medication, just like any other form of depression. I've never experienced it personally; I don't have any kids. However, I know women that have. I made Shirley's and Carmen's stories a little extreme but I don't think they're that far-fetched.**_

_**Also, I want to say that nobody should be hitting anybody in a relationship and I personally feel that Bella was very wrong to react that way. Some people may even think he should press charges against her. If this was real life, that might happen but most men don't press charges against their female abusers, unfortunately.**_

_**Thanks for reading everybody! Stay tuned. Oh, and please let me know what you think.**_


	27. Chapter 27

_**This story contains racial epithets, violence, and mature/adult themes. If you are highly offended by these things, or under 18, please do not read this.**_

_**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

**A/N: As always, thanks to Aniseed and Humble4 for keeping me in line. Hope you enjoy. **

**Chapter 27 – Dwight, Illinois**

Edward was wide awake at 6 a.m. with no alarm. Bella had one arm and leg wrapped around him, after waking him in the night to remind him who his body belongs to. He had gotten a few hours sleep but worries about what meeting Jane Anderson would be like and what information she could supply about the _Night Stalker_ kept nudging him awake.

He gently eased out of bed because he didn't want to wake Bella and because he wanted to get to Dwight at 9 a.m. According to _MapQuest_, the drive to Dwight was going to take a little over an hour, which wasn't bad at all, but the fact that he hadn't even spoken to Jasper yesterday worried him a little.

Jasper had the military in his blood. He was always up early so he wasn't worried about him being ready. His worry stemmed from not knowing where he was at the moment. He sent Jasper a quick text letting him know he wanted to leave Naperville at about 7:30 a.m., just to be on the safe side. He hadn't even put the phone down on the night stand fully when he received a text back saying he'd be ready to go and he was downstairs. Edward's Mercedes was already there. All they had to do was jump on Interstate-55 South. It was a straight shot and they would be there in no time.

He grabbing the things he needed off of his dresser and out of his drawers. He always kept some clothing and toiletries at his parents' house, just in case.

Isabella had kicked the sheets and covers off and was sleeping in the _Cars_ shirt he had on the day before; what was tight on him was actually big on her. He could see that her hips had hand-shaped discoloration and she had a bruise in the shape of a bite-mark on her shoulder closest to her neck. Her wrists were red from where his belt must've made friction marks. The skin around her eyes was puffy from all of the tears she'd shed.

He knew she would say it was nothing and that he shouldn't worry but that didn't stop him from feeling like a monster for bruising her. Her knuckles were still a little swollen but they weren't nearly as bad as he thought they were going to be. Nevertheless, he had yet to see if she could actually use her hand today. The pain could be brutal the day after landing a punch, especially to the jaw bone.

He was really hoping that she never got that angry at him again. He had to learn to stop and think before he reacted when he became uncomfortable with Isabella interacting with other men. The fact that she was there in his bed was a miracle in his mind. It was time to grow the hell up if he wanted to keep this woman in his life.

The words of Frankie Beverly and Maze's song "Joy and Pain" kept coming into his mind as he looked at her:

_Joy and Pain_

_are like sunshine and rain…_

_Love can be bitter._

_Love can be sweet_

_Sometimes devotion and _

_Sometimes deceit._

_The ones that you care for_

_give you so much pain._

_Oh, but it's alright_

_They're both one in the same…_

_Always hurting each other._

_If it ain't one thing it's another_

_When the world is down on you,_

_Love's somewhere around._

The true meaning behind the worlds finally hit him like a battering ram. Of course he had an intellectual understanding of the words but he never _felt_ them before. He gently caressed her cheek and kissed her forehead. They needed to really talk.

He made his way into the bathroom, closed the door and turned on the light to a slightly alarming reflection. There was no swelling but the bruise on his left jaw was an angry purple now. She had one hell of a right hook. Although he was the recipient of her skill, he was impressed. The skin around his eyes was swollen and puffy, as well, and his eyes were bloodshot. Upon closer inspection of his neck right under his ear, he noticed a hickey had formed. He smiled and then wondered why he was so pleased about being marked.

If this wasn't masochistic on his part, he didn't know what was.

As he was taking his shower and regretfully washing off Isabella's scent, he started to refocus on the goals of the day. It was difficult because he kept replaying the sudden turn of events during Amanda's party. They had both acted selfishly. Nonetheless, his whole life seemed to go the way it did the day before; one minute he was feeling safe and secure in his world and within the next it was turned upside down.

Thoughts of what Ben asked him about Aisha popped into his mind regarding what it was like with her sexually. He could understand his curiosity but that was never something he was going to share with him. He felt it was safe to answer the question for himself in his mind, though.

At first, it wasn't very good. He was uncomfortable, new and grieving over another loss of a loved one. She had just lost her husband and was really timid with another man but her need to connect to someone overshadowed her shyness. The best part about his first time was how their friendship took over after the awkward tryst. They talked, ate and hugged.

After a few times of getting together after that day, they both lost their discomfiture and it got to be good. It was simple male/female biology that men take longer to recuperate from an orgasm than women, although that was less true at that time, due to his youth. So it just made sense that she should get hers before he got his. She taught him about foreplay and the female body. She was his first sexual teacher, however, the sex was more educational and a means to an end than passionate, particularly for him, it seemed.

As soon of thoughts of what it was like with Isabella popped into his mind, his body reacted. He had never felt anything like this before. He leaned his head against the shower wall, willing his body to calm down.

This time two weeks ago, every time he closed his eyes he saw dead women. Now, the woman behind his closed eyes was very much alive. He felt guilty that he allowed these women to be less of a priority in his thoughts and subconscious. Nevertheless, Isabella's presence in his life brought every iota of his enthusiasm about living to the forefront of his being. Death had been overshadowed for the first time since he could remember.

He started to wonder if Ben was right. Were death and unhappiness so familiar to him that they had become his idea of normal? Had they become willful companions that never wanted to lose their place of importance in his mind? He could feel _them_ breathing down his neck and it caused the hairs there to stand up. Of course all of this was happening in his mind, the mind that he was very concerned with, as of yesterday.

The night before Jacob left a voicemail on his cell phone giving him the name of a therapist he thought he would like. He also suggested a couples' therapist that could help them work out all of these new feelings that they brought out of each other. He mentioned that he and Leah saw a couples' therapist before they were married and a few of years into their marriage. It didn't stop them from having any troubles in their marriage but it gave them the tools to work through them without one punching the other.

He was glad that Jacob wasn't a bully and, like his brother, was a gentle giant. Then again, he couldn't imagine Leah or Rosalie sitting back and taking any physical abuse from their husbands.

He decided to stay in the bathroom and get dressed for the day so he wouldn't be tempted by Isabella's sleeping form. She was like a magnet. This was a day for focus.

****DBW****

He made sure he had on his kicks that he could slide off and on in case they did an extensive search of his person before he went in. He had already told Jasper that he needed to bring two different forms of identification, including a picture I.D. Being without his weapon today made him feel vulnerable and naked. His intention was to pack his Glock up in its case that was in the trunk of his car with the bullet removed from the chamber and the clip in its snug spot next to it in case they inspected his car.

The warden, Phillip Moresini, told him that he had until 8 p.m. to speak to her. She wasn't exactly in segregation but in a special type of limbo due to the fact that she was the only female on death row in Illinois and the death penalty was on a moratorium and legislation was pending to end it all together. They didn't want to put her back into general population due to the fact that she was a high profile death row member and they didn't want her to be hurt or murdered before it was time for execution, if they did in fact lift the moratorium. If that reality wasn't so sad, it would be laughable.

Edward got the impression from talking to him that Jane Anderson was very special to Warden Moresini. He didn't know how he felt about that. His protective side was hoping that the Warden wasn't taking advantage of being in a position of authority in a prison full of women. The cynic in him thought there would be only one reason why she was "special" to him and that was probably sexual. His hope was that Jane hadn't mastered the art of manipulation and garnered the trust of the Warden with tales of woe and victimization. He was supposed to meet with Moresini first.

When he walked out of the bathroom, the first thing he noticed was that Isabella had kicked the covers off and was talking and moving around in her sleep. His knew that he should walk out because his body went on autopilot around Isabella. It would go straight to her and try to comfort her in one way or the other if his brain weren't working; usually his blood had already left his brain and pooled in one area. Regardless of his internal battle, he couldn't leave without kissing her good-bye.

As soon as he came closer to her body on the bed, the tossing and turning she was doing diminished. When he was within reach of her, it stopped all together and she breathed out a sigh of relief. He found this particular phenomenon to be completely humbling and fascinating. They were physically in tune with each other, even in their subconscious. She had the same effect on him; he was more serene around her than around anyone else. Then again, she brought out more passion in him than anyone else. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, rearranging her in the bed so that she was covered by his shirt and the duvet. He whispered,

"_Bye, baby. I love you and I'll be careful. I'll be back before you can miss me."_

She rolled over, gripping his button-down shirt. He cursed himself for waking her up. Her eyes fluttered but they never fully opened. She mumbled,

"_No. Stay. Safe with me."_

His chest exploded with emotion and his whole body felt like it heated up from her desire to protect _him_. He kissed her softly on her lips and gently released her hands from his shirt, being extra mindful of her hurt hand.

He quickly walked away from her and outside of his bedroom door after scribbling a note telling her how much he loved her and needed her in his life and leaving it on the bathroom counter right under her strawberry body wash. Once the door closed, he let out a breath, and then he shivered from the chill of being away from her. He shook it off and walked down the three flights to get something quick to eat. What he saw made him laugh.

They looked like a bunch of lushes. Emmett and Rose were lying next to each other on the couch, passed out. Alice was laid out on the floor by the fireplace. They all must've been drunk as hell the night before if Alice couldn't make it to her room and Rose and Emmett couldn't make the one flight up to his bedroom. He shuddered to think what the basement must look like.

He turned off the television which was displaying the menu screen for movie "The Hangover." How appropriate, he thought to himself. Part of him wanted to go in the kitchen and turn on every noise-making appliance his parents owned but he couldn't find it within himself to be that cruel. He covered up the _Three Stooges _with the throws on the back of the couches and proceeded into the kitchen. Jasper was up with a cup of coffee, pressed and starched. Edward stopped and looked at him with astonishment before he greeted him.

"Good morning, Jazz. I take it you didn't have anything to drink last night."

Jasper looked up at him and gave him a sly half-smile.

"I think I had more to drink than all three of those lightweights. I just know how to handle my liquor. I won every drinking game Alice had us playing. That's why they're all passed out in there." His shoulders shook with laughter after he jerked his thumb in the general direction of the great room.

Edward grabbed a cup of coffee and fixed himself a bowl of _Honey Nut Cheerios_. He really looked at Jasper's face once he sat across from him at the kitchen island. There were no noticeable signs that he had been drinking the night before. The only thing that gave it away was his occasional yawn. Jasper was usually the consummate morning person, meaning annoyingly cheerful and alert.

Jasper looked at Edward's face between yawns and whistled.

"I know now not to ever get Bella angry with me. Don't you box, Edward? You should know the phrase 'stick _and _move.'"

Edward grimaced. "Yeah, well, I didn't do any "sticking" so I wasn't mentally prepared for the "moving" part."

"Damn! You didn't even see it coming? That's classic!"

"Oh, I see! This is a form of entertainment for you. Wait until Alice clocks you the first time. I'll make sure to buy ringside seats."

Jasper laughed.

"You missed that one. Your time has passed. She was just too short to reach my jaw. She connected with my stomach pretty good, though." He rubbed his stomach with the memory of the punch.

"I was just kidding, Jazz. Alice punched you in the gut?"

He nodded. "Yeah, that day Maria called. She's got one helluva an upper cut going for her."

They sat in silence until Jasper started laughing again.

"We're a couple of whipped puppies. These women have us by the 'nads and they know it."

"Well, Rose punched the shit out of Emmett one day because she heard a rumor he was messing around with one of the Honey Bears. He was just trying to help the woman out because her boyfriend was beating on her and Em can't take hearing stuff like that. So, he put her up in a hotel for a few weeks and Rose found the receipts. The hotel put her through to the room, she heard a woman's voice answer the phone and all hell broke loose. She started "investigating" and some idiot told her that's he had been driving around with the woman a couple of times. I suspect it was a former member of Emmett's security that had a little crush on Rose. She brought her pregnant behind down to Soldier Field and punched him so hard in the jaw one of his molars was knocked out."

Jasper winced.

"What?"

"Yep. She knocked his shit clean out of his mouth. It was crazy. I caught it over the radio because they called the police. When I got there, Security told me they had to drag her out because she was "resisting", which really pissed me off. Those motherfuckers got an earful. All eight of their punk asses couldn't restrain one pregnant woman long enough for her to calm down? When I asked Em what was going on, he was sitting there bleeding from his mouth, holding his tooth in a little Dixie cup filled with milk."

Jasper looked wide awake now.

"After I brought Em home from the dentist, me and my partner at the time went to try and talk to the woman's boyfriend and put a little scare in ol' boy. He swung on me as soon as I told him why we were there and I ended up arresting his ass. She took the time that he was in jail to move out. Meanwhile, I had to convince Rose that she had gotten some bad information because she wouldn't talk to Carlisle or Esme and Alice was mad at her for hurting Emmett. The only reason why she was willing to talk to me is because she knew that if he was cheating on her, I would've tried to knock the rest of his teeth out. Anyway, she came home once she knew the deal and she didn't apologize like Bella did, at least as far as I know. She made him promise not to sneak around without at least telling her what was going on. Man, I can't believe that was almost seven years ago, now. You better believe God and Rose know all of Em's secrets now. So, all three of us are whipped puppies."

"Damn! Well, out of the three women, I guess I'm the least surprised that Rosalie punched Emmett. I think she might be able to take me." Jasper drawled.

Edward laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, she'll give you a run for your money. You better be glad you know Karate; although, that might not stop her from trying to knock your ass out, too. She's crazy as hell."

Just then, Rose came stumbling into the kitchen with her hair all over her head, scratching her stomach and yawning, clearly hung over.

"Who's crazy as hell?" She asked in a raspy voice.

They both turned their heads in her direction and said,

"Nobody."

She looked at them suspiciously, grabbed a cup of coffee and shuffled back out of the room. They breathed a sigh of relief and got up to leave for the day, both glad they had dodged that bullet, or fist. Edward hoped the first thing Isabella saw this morning was the note he left for her and not the marks he left on her.

****DBW***

Traffic wasn't bad at all. It was a clear and sunny late summer day. The temperature was mild, around 70° Fahrenheit. They entered I-55 with relatively light traffic. It was as though the weather and environment were trying to take it easy on them because they knew what they were driving towards.

Jasper finally spoke up after they had been travelling for ten minutes.

"Geez! Did Bella turn into Mike Tyson and try to bite a piece of your neck off too, Evander?"

Edward struggled for a second trying to figure out what he was talking about and then he remembered the hickey on his neck. He laughed lightly.

"It's just a little love bite. It's cool."

"Uh huh. That's what all the battered say." Jasper chuckled and Edward snickered nervously, trying to change the subject because her mark was much worse than his.

"So, did you pick out a ring yet, Jazz?"

"I didn't have to. When I told Carlisle and Esme I wanted to ask Alice to marry me, Carlisle offered me his mother's engagement ring to give to her. It's real nice, E. He said he didn't give it to Esme because he wanted her to have something original but he'd be proud to pass it on to me, if I wanted it. That got me a little misty, Cullen. You know my parents are ass backward when it comes to tradition. So, I felt like I would be joinin' something bigger than me if I asked Alice to marry me and she said yes. You see what I'm sayin'?" The emotion in his voice made his drawl even more pronounced.

Edward had seen the ring. It was a simple 1.5-carat solitaire diamond in a silver band. It was classic and elegant, just like Alice when she wasn't punching people in the gut and yelling on the phone at her suppliers.

"Yeah, I see what you're saying. I think that ring is perfect for Mae Mae. I don't think she's ever even seen it before. She's just like you about tradition. It makes her feel…like she belongs."

They were quiet for a little while longer.

"Jazz, did you and Victoria find out who sent that video to Captain Morris?"

"Yeah, we did. It came from a student account at the University of Chicago. I'm going to check it out on Monday. You want to roll with me?"

Edward nodded but was wondering why a U of C student would be following or interested in Isabella and him.

"We also found out where those collars are made. So, we can hit both spots tomorrow."

Edward was impressed that Victoria and Jasper had gotten so much done.

"Cullen, this car is fan-fucking-tastic. I feel like I'm riding in the cockpit of an airplane. You sure it'll take an hour to get there? We might be there in thirty minutes."

Edward looked at the speedometer and saw he was pushing 100 miles an hour and immediately slowed down thinking of what Isabella's reaction would be.

"You don't have to slow down on my account. I love speed, bro." Jasper leaned back and started scrolling through Edward's playlist on his touch screen monitor build into the dashboard.

Edward chuckled to himself because Jasper would fit right in to his family because they all loved speed. Edward had tried to tame that beast within himself and obey traffic laws but from time to time he had to push all the way down on the gas pedal.

"Hot damn!" Edward jumped and looked at Jasper like he was loony.

"You alright, Jazz?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. I just didn't know you like country. I can't believe you have Rascal Flats on here. I think I might give you the ring instead. Alice hates country music."

Edward laughed, "What a brotha can't like country music? Country music is just the blues with a twang, dawg. I mean real country, not that Taylor Swift shit. I'm talking about Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Conway Twitty, the Everly Brothers, Dolly Parton, Ray Charles and Charlie Pride. You know the deal."

Edward laughed harder because he remembered Jacob's reaction to his country music collection.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, E, but when I go to blues clubs; I don't see many black folks. It's like an ocean of whiteness most of the time."

Edward let out a little laugh, "I think rap and hip hop in general pushed the blues into the background for younger black folks. Rap was my generation's blues. _"Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge, I'm tryin' not to lose my head. Haha ha ha ha. It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under." _That's blues set to a hip hop beat, dawg. What's really crazy is that most of those rappers love the blues and jazz."

"Man, I haven't heard _Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five_ in years. Old school rap was the business. I can't get into Half-a-Dollar and M&Ms. They ain't saying shit."

Edward laughed because Jasper never ceased to surprise him and they had a lot in common. He couldn't really get into the rappers _Eminem_ and _50 Cent_ like some people. They made good party music though. He kept forgetting Jasper was older than him, after getting used to being the one that had been around the longest in a conversation.

"They can both flow but you're right; they ain't saying shit."

He wasn't fooled by Jasper's diversionary tactic. Jasper was trying to talk about music to keep his mind off of his visit to Jane Volturi. Outside of Ben, he was quickly becoming the big brother he never had.

They continued their drive alternating between country, blues and rap. When Edward got to _Public Enemy_ on his list, Jasper whooped and turned it up. Edward laughed as they started rapping the words to "Fight the Power." Jasper said his parents would be so proud he knew the words. Then they got "deep" and started talking about what the member _Flavor Flav_, with his gold fronts and the big clock around his neck, represented in the group. Was he like a court jester or a town crier? Yeah, he was going to fit right in to their mismatched family.

As they entered Dwight's city limits, population 4,363, Edward could tell the town revolved around the prison and the people that came to visit. There was a well-maintained Greyhound bus station, Amtrak station and Metra station. It was full of diners, hotels, gift shops and second-hand clothing stores. They had a couple of the big name discount retailers there, too.

It was paradoxical living in some towns that had a prison. People usually didn't want the stigma of having a prison in their community but once they accepted it, their whole lives tended to revolve around them. It was an excellent source of tax revenue. The crime rate usually went down in the immediate area and most people who lived there were employed there or in some ancillary business that depended on its presence.

As they got nearer to the facility, the residences became more scant and they started to pass acres of unoccupied land. Edward realized at that time that the prison wasn't actually in Dwight; it was in Nevada Township near Dwight. The first thing he saw in the distance was the barbed wire over the fences that surrounded the facility. As they approached the imposing stone building with guard towers that made it look more like a medieval castle than a correctional facility, he started to breathe heavily. He was getting closer and closer to facing the woman that killed his parents. At that moment, he really wished he could hold Isabella's hand.

When they were about three blocks away from the facility, they saw flashing lights. Edward cursed himself because he knew he was probably going faster than he should've been out of sheer nervousness. He looked at his speedometer and he was doing about fifty-five in a thirty-five mile per hour zone. He and Jasper exchanged a look and turned down the music.

He pulled over to the shoulder on the rural road and put his hands on the steering wheel. Jasper put his hands on the dashboard. The Sheriff's Police sat in their cruiser behind them and slightly to the side. Edward figured this area must have been unincorporated. Jazz and Edward were quiet, both unfamiliar with this department.

Two sun-glass wearing police officers exited their vehicle looking like every stereotype of a macho cop he had ever seen. They were both white males and one was clearly much younger than the other. He already had his window down and was waiting for the older officer by his window to speak.

"Good morning, gentlemen. License, registration and proof of insurance, please."

Edward raised his hands slowly and indicated that he had to reach into his console and into his glove compartment to get all of the information. The Sheriff nodded. He reached and pulled his license out of his wallet. He didn't know how these police were going to react to him being a "big city" detective. So, he decided to keep his mouth shut and didn't show his badge. The one officer stayed by Jasper's window as the other went and ran Edward's information.

As he was running everything, the younger officer asked Jasper for his I.D. and he quickly obliged by pulling it out of his wallet. The officer gave it a once over and gave him back his driver's license. Jasper was smart enough not to flash his badge, either.

The officer who was running Edward's license came back after about ten minutes. He forgot how intimidating it was to be stopped by the police over the course of his ten year career. He was still trying to stay still so he wouldn't get gunned down because they mistook a cell phone for a weapon, as has been done before.

"Well, Detective Cullen, what seems to be the all-fired rush? Do you know how fast you were going, sir?"

Edward responded in kind,

"Officer Collins, I apologize. I just got off I-55 and I guess I hadn't noticed I was still going pretty fast."

"Well, it's a good thing this isn't a residential area. Where are you on your way to?" The officer didn't seem as agitated as he was earlier.

"I'm on my way to the prison. I have a meeting with the Warden there, Phillip Moresini."

"Moresini? He's a good man. He's a deacon at my church." The officer actually smiled.

Edward smiled back because he was hoping to hear that the Warden was a good man and not taking advantage of his position.

"Well, you slow down in this racing machine, Detective. You get into a scuffle with somebody? I thought detectives didn't do the dirty work up there."

"Oh, you know how it is; I forgot to take the garbage out. My lady got fed up and punched me in the jaw."

Thankfully they laughed and the older officer rubbed his jaw.

"Yeah, I know how it is. I hear these doors open up, instead of out. Can I see?"

Edward smiled and asked him if he could step back a few feet. The other officer ran around the car so he could see, too. He opened the door and they both stared at it in awe as it opened up into the air. They peered inside and asked him a few more questions about it.

"Wow! They paying you guys pretty good up in Daley-land, huh?" The younger officer asked. Edward and Jasper laughed.

"No. I mean, it's not bad pay but I have other business ventures." Edward smiled and they looked somewhat impressed.

"Well, it was nice to meet you. Thanks for not flashing your shield at us. We hate that. Hey! Are any of your business ventures a restaurant? The wife and I have been dying to drive up north and eat at one of those steakhouses downtown."

"Nah. I'm not smart enough to run a restaurant but I know of a few places that you might like. Give me a call if you come into the city."

Edward gave both of them his card with his number on it. He was thinking that he might even be able to get them into a Bears game but he didn't want to tell them that. They could still give him a ticket and he didn't want them to think he was trying to bribe them or anything.

Edward and Jasper had gotten out of the car and they talked and laughed for a few minutes before the officers shook hands and said good-bye to each other.

Edward thanked them for giving him a break. Professional courtesy only goes so far and police officers are just human beings. He was glad he caught them on a good day.

****DBW****

Edward and Jasper drove the rest of the way to the prison. They didn't have to go through a check point for the car. So, they were going to be able to just get out and walk up to the visitor's door.

"Cullen, I haven't been stopped by the sheriff's police in a long time. They scare the bejesus out of me. Where I come from the sheriffs are the ones who run amuck and administer their own brand of justice, if you know what I mean. I thought they were gonna give you a real hard time about this car."

Edward nodded. "Yeah, I know about the sheriff's police down in Texas. I've heard enough horror stories about driving down there at night to last a lifetime. I was a little worried myself but they were cool."

Edward didn't want to let on to Jasper just how frightened he was. He had already had some pretty scary encounters with police, even as an undercover officer while riding on the El. He probably shouldn't have driven this car. He was just excited to get it on the highway and stretch its legs. Part of the reality of being a black man in America was there was not much room for being carefree. He had to always be aware of his surroundings and how his mere existence angered some people. Thankfully, he didn't run into those types today.

As soon as he was about to exit the car, his phone rang. He heard the first few notes of "Simply Beautiful" and smiled big.

"Good morning, beautiful."

"_I don't know how good it is. When I woke up, you were already gone. Why didn't you wake me so I could see you off?"_

Her voice was still sleep-riddled and raspy and he wished he was there holding her.

"You were sleeping so peacefully. I couldn't do it. There's a note for you in the bathroom. I love you, baby. Kiss Amanda for me. Stay there until I get back okay? We'll be able to talk about things some more then. How's your hand feel?

"_It's fine. Just a little sore_. _I love you too, Edward, very much. Be careful. We're okay, aren't we? I mean, we're just talking right? You're not gonna leave me are you?"_

"Isabella Marie Swan, what do I have to do to make you see that won't happen?"

"_I don't know, Edward. I still wonder why you love me sometimes. Hurry back to me, Edward."_

His heart felt like it grew in his chest.

"Okay. I will. I'm turning off my phone and putting it in my trunk. So, we'll be out of touch for a little while. If you call, just leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I get to the car. Bye, love."

"_See you soon."_

He hung up, turned off his phone and walked toward his trunk to put it away. He saw that Jasper was on the phone, too. He waited by the trunk until he finished. Jasper walked over a few seconds later and put his phone in the trunk, as well.

"That was Alice. She is hilarious when she's drunk, which she still is. She was reading me the riot act about not waking her up before I left."

Edward chuckled.

"Yeah, her twenty-first birthday party was a history-making event. I'll have to show you the pictures one day. Did you bring the digital recorder and a notepad?"

"Yessir, I did. Did you bring your calm?"

Edward laughed.

"Yeah, it's in my pocket somewhere."

"Well, make sure it's handy, bro. Make sure it's not your dick before you whip it out. That might start a riot. Let's go."

Edward was snickering.

"I can't believe you just said that shit."

"Well, I gotta keep you on your toes."

They walked up to the large metal door that marked the visitor's entrance and got in line. It wasn't a long line because they were actually early for visiting hours.

The line moved pretty quickly once they started letting people in. The experience was very similar to going through airport security, except for the rifle toting guards in the two towers on either side of the building.

Each visitor was asked to sign in and their name was checked against a visitor's list that's already been generated. A couple of people were told that they couldn't see who they came for because the prisoners were in solitary confinement. The look of disappointment on their faces was heart-breaking. Edward could just imagine what they had to go through to be there just to get turned away.

When the guards checked Edward's and Jasper's names, they pulled them aside and told them to wait in a small holding room just beyond the checkpoint. Edward sat in the stiff metal chair facing the wall made of gray cinder block. His leg was bouncing up and down and he was twisting his locks. Jasper leaned against the wall.

"Come on, big fella, whip out the calm. Everything's cool. We're probably just waiting for the Warden."

"Jazz, if I wasn't so glad you were here, I'd be really pissed at you right now."

"Ack! You know you love me. I have a great talent for bringing out the best in people."

Edward laughed.

"Yeah, you aiight. Regardless, stop making references to my dick. I'm starting to wonder about you."

As soon as Jasper was about to retort, the door opened.

"Good morning, officers. Sorry for the wait. You must be Edward Cullen."

He walked up to Edward and extended his hand.

"Good morning, Warden Moresini. Yes, I'm Edward and this is Detective Jasper Whitlock. He's the lead detective on the _Night Stalker_ case."

The Warden smiled and extended his hand to Jasper. He wasn't too tall, about 5'7". He had dark hair with streaks of gray here and there. His eyes were huge and chestnut brown, like a puppy dog. They reminded Edward of Ben's eyes. He looked to be pretty fit at about 160 pounds. His smile was wide, white and even like he had never had a cup of coffee or smoked a cigarette in his life.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Whitlock. You both can just call me Phil. May I call you two by your first names?"

They both nodded.

"Well, I didn't know they were sending a couple of studs down here. Where'd they find you two, _GQ Magazine_? The ladies are going to be out of control. They grow you fellas tall up north, don't they?"

Edward and Jasper laughed.

"Well, I'm from Texas. They grow everything big in Texas. Edward here hit a growth spurt last year and his body is just now catching up with his head."

Edward rolled his eyes at Jasper who has clearly been spending way too much time with Emmett. The Warden laughed loudly and patted Jasper on the shoulder.

"That was a good one. I see you two are good friends."

"I'm starting to wonder after today." Edward volunteered.

"Awww! Don't worry, son. Your head's not that big. Okay then, let's get moving. I wanted to talk to you in my office before we get you over to talk to Jane."

Jasper laughed and Edward just shook his head because he couldn't seem to catch a break no matter where he went. Everybody had jokes.

Moresini moved with the energy of a much younger man. He was probably in his late fifties or early sixties. However, they had to put forth an effort to keep up with the man who was talking about different aspects of the facility while he was walking towards his office.

As they walked into the office, Edward noticed how modest it was. He had his degree from Northwestern and a few certifications on the white plaster wall. However, the rest of the walls were filled with rows and rows of books on bookshelves that looked like the kind you get from _Target_ or _Wal-Mart_. He had pictures of his family on his desk and there was a well-worn Bible sitting on the desk by the phone. He quickly put it away as though he didn't want them to know he was religious. There was a small wooden folding table with a coffee machine full of what smelled like fresh coffee behind his simple dark wood desk and black leather chair. There was one mug that read, "World's Greatest Dad," some Dixie cups, sugar and powder creamer on the table.

"Would you fellas like some coffee? I just made it. It's not too bad."

They both said yes but that they would help themselves.

After they got settled into the two dark leather wing-back chairs in front of the desk, Moresini sat down and took a sip of the brew in his mug.

"Isn't this a beautiful day? Some of these ladies only get to see the sun for one hour out of the day. It just makes me appreciate my little window in here a whole lot more."

Edward and Jasper nodded and took a few minutes with the Warden to watch the sun in the near cloudless sky as they sipped their rather strong coffee.

"Sorry about how strong it is. I'm part Cuban. We make coffee that fights back."

Jasper laughed, "One of my ex-girlfriends was Cuban. This does remind me of the coffee that her father used to make, except he'd always put a little liquor in it. I loved it."

"Well, I'm a teetotaler, Jasper, but I can appreciate that."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes.

"So, Edward, it's pretty brave of you to come see Ms. Anderson today."

Edward almost spit out his coffee but he managed to maintain his composure.

"Well, she said she had information about the _Night Stalker_ and we can use all the help we can get."

"Be that as it may, she killed your father and you were just a boy when that happened. It must have been devastating. I understand that you lost both of your parents on the same day."

Edward set his coffee down and looked the Warden in the eyes.

"Yes, it was devastating but I'm a grown man now. I was blessed to have another set of loving parents. I think I can do what I need to do to help protect the women of Chicago."

Moresini smiled at Edward, walked around to the front of his desk and leaned back against it.

"Edward, I'm a people person. I think that's what makes me a decent warden. I know what motivates people and what is punitive but not demoralizing on a case by case basis. Most of these women are going to go back out into the world and interact with people again. I want them to be prepared to do that without making their way back in here. Cutting down on recidivism is one of my core goals for this facility. We offer all kinds of programs from getting a GED to dog grooming. So, when I say this I say it from almost thirty years of experience dealing with human behavior; you had to put on your "big boy" pants to come here today. I admire you for that. I know you're nervous but it looks like you have a good friend with you and Jane is a different woman than she was when she first came here. She is _neve_r leaving here. This is the end of the line, one way or the other. She could've turned into a very malevolent person due to that fact but she chose a different path. That doesn't exonerate her but I think you'll find that you'll be glad you mustered up the courage to come."

Edward nodded and looked at Jasper who gave him a small smile. The warden's desk phone rang and it sounded like they were telling him Jane was ready for her visit.

"Okay then, let's get rolling fellas. Jane is in a strange place here. As you know, the death penalty is on a moratorium and there's legislation pending to end it all together. So, she's in limbo. She can't go back into general population in case things change and she ends up being put to death. She's not technically in segregation. She's the only woman in Illinois on death row. She's supposed to be locked down for 23 out of 24 hours in the day but I just can find it in my heart to do that to her, so we keep her locked down 16 hours. She's done a lot while she's been here: she got her GED, took some college classes, she's a youth mentor. She meets with at-risk youth who are on their way to being where she is. She's helped a lot of kids."

Edward didn't like hearing what a great person the woman who killed his father was.

"Listen, Phil. I appreciate what you're saying. I just want to get in here and see what she has to say and get on home."

The Warden looked up at him and nodded his understanding. He patted him on the shoulder in a fatherly manner.

"Don't be scared, Edward. Everything's going to be okay."

Edward gasped a little because he realized what he was feeling was fear. All of these years what he felt towards her was anger. Now he realized that standing in front of the metal bars that separated him from his father's murderer by mere feet did frighten him. He swallowed down his fear and stood up tall.

"I'm fine, Phil. Thanks for your concern. Can we just get this started?"

He nodded and had the C.O. open the door. When they walked through and it shut behind them Edward jumped slightly. He hated to hear the clank of prison doors. It made him feel claustrophobic. Jasper touched his shoulder and he immediately felt calmer.

They walked through the heart of the prison to hoots and hollers and women banging on their cell doors. The women were yelling out:

"_Damn! Look at that!"_

"_I'd like to get me some of that!"_

"_Are you coming to see me handsome?"_

"_Come over here with your fine asses!"_

The corrections officers were trying to get them to calm down but it was of no use. As they left that part of the building, they entered another less rowdy area. They were going through the solitary confinement wing. There was much less banging and cat calls. Most of the women just stopped and stared through the tiny window in their solid metal doors.

They finally came to another section. It was eerily quiet. There was one big cage, like a scene from the movie _Silence of the Lambs_. In back of the cage, there were vending machines and Moresini told them they were allowed to get things to eat out of the machines but they couldn't share them with Jane.

"Edward, Jasper, you can stay as long as you need to up until 8 p.m. These are extenuating circumstances and she doesn't have any other visitors today."

Suddenly, a door opened and two burly guards marched in a diminutive ash-blonde woman who looked to be in her late twenties shuffling with leg and arm shackles. Edward was entirely fixated on her form. He wasn't expecting her to be so…tiny. She was looking down until they got to the cage and then she raised her face slightly to watch her step. She had a couple of manila folders in her hands. Edward had never seen such large blue eyes in his life. They seemed to take over her entire face. The C.O.s opened the door and walked her over to a metal bench against one side of the cage where they unshackled her legs but quickly rearranged her arm shackles so that her arms were locked in the back of her to a metal bar outside of the cage. Her face took on a glazed over look like she had done this many times before and was accustomed to being treated like a caged animal.

The guards nodded at the Warden and he let Edward and Jasper into the cage and guided them to a long metal table with two chairs on one side and one on the other. They took their seats. Moresini walked over to Jane, squatted down to eye-level and said a few things to her quietly. She nodded and smiled a little. He walked over and patted Edward on the shoulder again.

"These guards will be here with you the entire time. I'll be in my office if you two need me for any reason. I hope you have a productive meeting."

He nodded at the guards after he left out of the cage and locked the door. They unshackled her arms which allowed her to stand and walk towards the table freely. Edward experienced tunnel-vision. All he could see was her walking towards the table and time seemed to stand still. He felt completely vulnerable and wanted to protect Jasper. He wanted his gun. He didn't realize he was gripping onto the table tightly until Jasper patted his hand. He then stood up and reached out his hand towards her.

"Ms. Anderson, I'm Detective Jasper Whitlock. I'm the lead detective on the _Night Stalker _case now. I brought a digital recorder to tape our conversation and I'm also going to take a few notes. Is that okay with you?"

She nodded and reached out tentatively to shake his hand. He shook it briefly and let it go. She looked at her hand as though she hadn't had human contact in a while.

One of the guards stood up and announced loudly,

"No touching!"

Jasper raised up his hands in an apologetic gesture. Edward finally stood up and said,

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen, Ms. Vol…Anderson. I'm just assisting Jasper in the investigation now. Thanks for having us. I'm anxious to hear what information you have."

She looked like a deer caught in headlights and was staring at him like he was a deer hunter which angered him because he would never hurt her. How dare she be afraid of him? Jasper touched his shoulder and he visibly calmed.

"Ms. Anderson, why don't you have a seat?" Edward said through gritted teeth.

She nodded quickly and sat down.

It was silent for only about five minutes but it felt like an eternity.

Jane was fidgeting with her small hands, the hands that had taken a gun and shot his father. Edward couldn't stop staring at them. Jane finally spoke up after she swallowed hard.

"Detective Whitlock, can you allow Detective Cullen and me to talk alone for about five minutes." Her eyes gestured to the bench she sat on when they first brought her in there.

Edward's eyes widened and he looked to Jasper, who patted his shoulder and leaned in to say,

"I'll be right there. I won't leave you alone."

Edward nodded feeling like a six-year old again.

Jane followed Jasper with her eyes until she didn't have a reason to anymore. She finally made herself look up at Edward. Even seated he was much taller than her. She was just barely five feet.

Her ash-blonde bob, clear skin and big sky-blue eyes made her look much younger than she actually was. It was discovered at trial that Jane was only nineteen when she shot his father and not twenty-two like her I.D. indicated. Aro married her when she was fifteen. He had I.D. made up indicating she was eighteen. She was never legally married to him. It had been twenty-five years so she should have been forty-four.

"You can call me Jane, Detective Cullen. You don't have to be so respectful." She looked down ashamedly and Edward was startled by the softness of her voice again.

"Jane, you can call me Edward. Detective Cullen is a mouthful."

Suddenly, her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

"I'd really rather not. It's…weird. I guess I don't have to tell you that."

Edward looked at her and unexpectedly he wasn't angry anymore. He didn't know what happened. It was gone. She wasn't a monster or a demon. She was just a woman who made a horrible decision that affected a lot of people negatively.

"Well, you can call me EJ or Cullen, if you're more comfortable with that."

She looked up and smiled slightly.

"Okay, Cullen it is."

There was another uncomfortable silence.

"So, was your trip down here okay?"

"Yes, it was. Thanks for asking. Warden Moresini seems like a nice man."

She beamed up at him and said,

"He's like the father I never had."

Edward could easily imagine that being the case but when he looked at her face she was grimacing.

"I'm sorry I said that, Cullen."

He felt confused and then it dawned on him why she was apologetic.

"Listen Jane, when I lost my father, a very good man took over that role. I had a father. You don't have to be apologetic for talking about fathers."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"I heard. The nice man that helped deliver my baby took you in. He has a very kind face. Even after what I did, he was still kind to me."

"He's my uncle. He's married to my biological mother's sister. You asked for him. You were locked up in Cook County. They have an excellent medical facility for pregnant women. Why did you ask for Carlisle Cullen to deliver your baby?"

"I don't know. I was still all messed up in the head. I was paranoid and I thought Marcus and Caius, Aro's brothers, were going to have me killed at any minute. They had people on the inside that they were controlling. I just felt that I could trust Dr. Cullen with our lives."

"I guess I can understand that."

"He made sure we were okay. Then he had to leave. That's when everything went wrong."

Edward's curiosity was piqued and he leaned forward.

"What do you mean 'everything went wrong?'"

"She took my baby." Her eyes were even bigger on her face, if that were possible.

"Who took your baby?"

"Heidi, Aro's sister. Aro had promised Heidi a girl and she had arranged for her to be given to a couple in an illegal adoption. They were buying my baby."

Edward's pulse quickened thinking of the woman that was his Isabella's doppelganger.

"Do you mean Heidi Brunelli? Heidi Brunelli that was found shot in the head in Chicago?"

She nodded, slightly surprised he knew of the shooting.

"Her married name was Brunelli. Her husband…passed. She kept his name. Her base of operations was Toronto. They didn't want her in the States because she was the most uncontrollable of the Volturi, the most violent."

"She stole your baby, thinking it was a girl to sell to a couple?"

"I told Aro the baby was a girl because I knew I was having a boy and if he knew he was having a male heir, he would want to keep him. I didn't want my child to be raised by Aro. I had arranged for my brother Alec to take the baby and raise him like he had done with my other son. An orderly, who obviously worked for Heidi, stole him out of the bassinet at the hospital. Alec never had a chance."

"You have another son? The warden told me you were married when you were fifteen. When did you have your other son?"

She got that glazed over look on her face again.

"I had my other son when I was twelve."

Edward's face was overtaken by surprise. As a police officer, he had seen and heard it all but he still wasn't any less shocked when he heard these types of things. Having a baby at twelve meant that she was sexually active when she was ten or eleven, possibly even earlier. She must've just gotten her period.

"Emmanuel is my step-father's son, although he would never admit it. He's his spitting image. Our father died the year I was born. My mother kicked me out supposedly because I was out of control and I went to live with my brother. He was almost twelve years older than me."

Jasper came and sat back at the table with them and they both nodded that it was okay.

"My brother's girlfriend hated me with a passion. I couldn't understand why and I still don't till this day. Outside of the fact that the baby cried all night, I hadn't done or said anything to her to make her be so mean to me. My brother started to fight with her about it and I didn't want them to break up over me. She loved the baby so, I left. I didn't know how to take care of him. I felt he would be better off without me."

Jasper gave Edward a questioning look and he tried to communicate with his eyes that he'd explain later.

"I'm sorry you went through that, Jane. That's a horrible thing to happen when you're just a pre-teen. Do you know who bought the baby you had in jail?"

"Once Heidi found out the baby was a boy, she went crazy, it seems. The deal fell through. She killed and robbed the couple and castrated my little boy."

Jasper and Edward sat there slack-jawed.

"Someone heard him barely crying in a dumpster outside of the hotel where the couple was found. He was half-dead. They rushed him to the hospital and they were able to save his life but he was permanently damaged."

"She castrated a baby?" Jasper couldn't even grasp what she was saying.

"Yeah. She castrated my baby. The hospital contacted me at Cook County and told me they had found the baby and the damage that was done. I asked them to contact my brother and have him come and get the baby." She was crying silent tears.

Edward asked quietly, "What was your baby's name?"

"James. James Edward Anderson." She looked down and her face was streaked with tears and had turned completely red.

Edward swallowed several times trying to process this information.

"Is Edward a family name of yours?" He already knew what she had done before he asked.

She responded simply, "No."

"You named your son after my father?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I loved him." Edward and Jane stared at each for a while before she broke the silence again.

"I loved him so much it would make me feel like I was having a heart attack when I was around him. I had never felt that way before about anyone. I didn't even know what was happening to me."

"You loved my father but you shot him in the head?" He was completely lost.

"He treated me so good. Aro was angry that I had gotten pregnant, like it was all my fault. He claimed it wasn't his because I was still turning tricks. Be that as it may, he was the only one I had sex with without a condom. That's why he arranged for Heidi to take the baby; he didn't want it. He wouldn't go to any doctor's appointments with me and he used to threaten that if I get fat, he would kill me. I would have cravings and he would ignore them. I even tried to reason with him that the couple would want a healthy baby. Then he would slap me around for talking back."

Jasper was sitting on the edge of his seat and Edward seemed to be in some type of shock.

"When Aro hired your dad, he was so impressed with him. He would call him _his pet nig…"N" word _when he wasn't around. However, when he brought in the cash from the gun runs every week, he practically called him son."

She looked at Edward fearfully waiting to see if he took offense to what she just said. She heard that word so much growing up in her household and with the Volturi, she thought that racial slur was what black people were called after a while. However, he didn't seem to be angry and his eyes were imploring her to continue.

"Aro trusted him so much he started to give him more responsibility and allowing him to hang with the family more. He managed all of Aro's security and transportation around the city. He became my personal driver when he wasn't doing his main job. Anthony, I mean Edward, would let me stop at ice cream shops and get some stuff I was craving and would buy me _Teen Beat_ magazines. He would make sure I got my prenatal vitamins and that I took them. His mood was always good around me; he would sing these little silly nursery rhymes to my stomach."

Edward shifted in his seat wondering why his father was so nice to this girl.

"I'm pretty sure he knew I was much younger than what Aro told him. Sometimes he would ask me if I had a choice what else would I do with my life. We would drive by community colleges sometimes and he would tell me about their GED programs because I told him I hadn't even gotten my high school diploma. He would tell me he always envied he kids who got to go to college and that it looked like they were having fun. His eyes would actually light up when he talked to me about stuff like that like he was trying to imagine me walking around one of those campuses."

Edward could tell from what she was telling him that his father was planning on getting her away from the Volturi. He had managed to get a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Illinois. Edward Sr. would hound any young person he was around about getting as much education as possible. That means he saw her with a promising future and if she hadn't shot him, she probably would be somewhere out there with a new identity and a future. Jane continued, interrupting his musing,

"I made a pass at him once. I knew there was at least one thing in my life I was good at. He pushed me away firmly and said he was a grown man in his thirties and there was no way he was putting his hands on me that way. I was more like a little sister to him than anything. Since I had never had such positive attention from a man before; I fell in love with him and I didn't even know what it was I was feeling at the time He was never mean to me and he would actually try to protect me from Aro. Nobody ever stood up to Aro and lived. I knew he was something other than what he said he was. Aro was so busy trying to take credit for how good he was he couldn't see that something was very wrong and he was letting him deeper and deeper into the family."

"He tried to save you, Jane. Why did you kill him?" Edward still wasn't angry, surprisingly.

"I felt like he had betrayed me. I was a stupid mixed-up kid. I was only seventeen when he came to us and I was nineteen by the time the bust went down. I had fantasies of running away with him and being his wife. My imagination would run wild with ideas that he would raise the baby I was carrying like he was his own and that we would live in a little house with a white picket fence with no worries. Then, I found out that he was married and already had a son. I had a picture of you and your mom in my pocket one day when I followed him to Dr. Cullen's office. I don't know if you can understand this but it cut me to my heart even more that your mother was white. It felt like she had my life. She looked so happy and you were such a beautiful boy. I could see a little of your father in your face then. Now, all I see is your mother." She gave him a small smile.

Jasper looked at Edward who still looked a little shocked. He wished his friend didn't have to go through this but she said she had information that could help stop the murders. So, he knew Edward would endure whatever he had to.

"Your father looked so different when he was going to visit Dr. Cullen. Around us he was always dressed to the nines in silk suits and Italian loafers. He was mostly serious, except when he was driving me around. When he went to see Dr. Cullen, he wore Converse, jeans and a t-shirt, usually. He looked relaxed and happy. I needed to know what type of people he was around in his real life. That's why I made an appointment with Dr. Cullen.

Demetri, one of Aro's bodyguards, told Aro that he had been following Edward with me and Aro asked me why. I told him that I suspected he was a cop. I didn't tell him he was FBI. Aro didn't even flinch when he heard that. We had another undercover cop with us for a couple of years that became a part of the family. So, he just kept on, business as usual."

"So, you killed him because you couldn't be with him not because he betrayed the Volturi family." Edward asked.

She nodded and the tears fell again.

"He was _still _trying to protect me, standing in that alley begging Aro to let me go. Aro used me as a shield and part of me wanted to be shot. I wanted to die. When Aro heard the RICO bust was going down with his brothers, he said he was going to have Edward and his family killed. He had several Chicago agents and CPD on his payroll and a few of them were on Edward's team. When I picked up the gun to shoot him, nobody stopped me. I was hoping a sniper would shoot me dead but they didn't."

"Are you going to tell me who these men were?" Edward asked angrily.

"Two of them are dead, but one is very much alive. I begged him not to kill you, Edward. Your father had saved my baby and I felt it was only fair to keep his alive. Fortunately, he agreed. His name is Liam. Liam O'Keefe."

"Liam killed my mother, Jane?" Edward's hands were balled into a fist.

"No. Liam wouldn't have dirtied his hands that way. He had Riley do it. Riley "The Scout" Monroe, the head of the _Newborns._ They made it look like the work of a rival gang and left her in her car on the Dan Ryan."

Jasper finally spoke up.

"Jane, how do we know you're even telling the truth? Aro is dead. You could blame him for just about anything and he's not around to dispute it."

"There's no way I can prove to you that Aro and Liam worked together but I have no reason to lie. I don't benefit at all from telling you this and my situation won't change in the least bit. My lawyer that handled the appeals tried to argue that I should get a new trial and be imprisoned for second degree murder because it was an act of passion and not premeditated. The judges disagreed. The only new evidence she was able to give them was my testimony. I never got on the stand at my original trial. The appellate court didn't want to hear my testimony. They believed that I had planned the murder with Aro and that I became even more determined to kill him because my husband was shot dead in front of me."

Jasper still looked skeptical but he didn't ask anything more about it.

"Liam basically took Aro's place once he retired and he's running the Chicago branch of the family. The fact that an Irish ex-cop is running any aspect of the Volturi business shows how desperate Marcus and Caius are to maintain their control on the outside. There's another family that is much more powerful now. Marcus is getting out one day soon, actually. Caius will never get out of prison. I do have evidence that Riley killed your mother, Edward. Riley is not the same man he was when he was a kid. The things he's done have started to weigh on him. He's basically living in a mansion on the Gold Coast, in Chicago, an old gangster, afraid of when he's going to be taken out by one of the _Newborns_ that want his respect for themselves. Riley and I have corresponded quite a bit. I think you'll find in one of these letters the proof you need to have Riley turn on Liam."

She slid one of the manila folders towards Edward. He looked at it for a moment. Then, he finally slid it closer to himself. He asked,

"What's in this for you, Jane? This doesn't have anything to do with the _Night Stalker_ case."

She looked Edward squarely in the eyes for the first time.

"Redemption. Some sort of redemption. My time is up. After Marcus and Caius find out I've talked to you, they'll have me killed. I won't last until the end of next week. I'm doing what Illinois won't do. This will start my execution. They won't touch you. There are people looking out for you that you're not even aware of Cullen."

Edward leaned forward trying to absorb everything he had learned. He didn't know what she meant by that last statement and he couldn't bring himself to ask.

"Moresini told me you help young people. He said you've changed. Why do you want to die, Jane?"

She looked at him with a confused look.

"I thought you'd be happy to hear that I won't be around much longer."

He leaned back in his chair.

"It's not that satisfying to hear a woman who's been victimized her entire life is going to be murdered for giving the police information. Maybe Moresini can have you transferred to another facility or do something to keep you protected."

She scoffed.

"Why Cullen? So, I can be even more of a burden on more people. It costs almost $34,000 annually to keep me here. I've been here for twenty-five years. You do the math. I mean, I'm sure that number was smaller at one point but you get the idea. I'm not a smart person but I know I'm a parasite. I always have been. That's why nobody wanted me, except a damn mobster and I know now he was just a pedoPhile. No, it's time for me to go. I'm being murdered because I murdered. It's as simple as that. It's justice."

Edward suddenly couldn't catch his breath. Jasper rubbed his back and tried to talk to him while Jane's eyes grew big and she called for one of the guards. He was having a panic attack and realizing that made him panic even more. The guards were going to take him out but Jasper stopped them and said he was going to get some water for Edward out of the vending machine and that he would be okay. Edward sat with his head between his knees, as Jasper had instructed, and tried to stop his hands from shaking. Jasper opened up the face of his watch, pulled out a pill from that compartment and gave it to Edward. He looked at him questioningly. Jasper told him that Alice had a feeling he would need a _Paxil_. He closed his eyes and swallowed the pill with the water. After about fifteen minutes, his breathing slowed and he was finally able to sit up. Jasper gave him some crackers from the vending machine and asked him to put something on his stomach. Edward felt humiliated but he did what he was asked to do.

Jane was looking at him sympathetically, which made him angry at himself but he knew how pathetic he looked.

"I used to have those. Panic attacks are the worst feeling. You feel like you're dying."

Edward looked at her and for the first time she looked her age. She gave him a somewhat maternal look of commiseration.

"Don't feel bad. Being in this place can make the biggest and strongest man panic. Plus, with all the information you're getting, it's completely understandable. You're strong like your dad, both of them. You have a big heart and you want to protect me, too. I can see it. Don't even waste your time, Cullen. I'm a lost cause."

****DBW****

They sat for a few more minutes in silence while Edward ate his peanut butter and cheese crackers and drank his water. Jasper got up and got him a sprite to keep his stomach settled and he grabbed something to munch on himself. Just then, a C.O. came in with a sandwich and a drink for Jane. They sat quietly while she munched on her food. Finally, she spoke up.

"This will probably be how they get me. They'll probably have my food poisoned, which will send me to the infirmary. Somebody will probably finish the job with a syringe or a pillow there."

Edward held his head down again and Jane apologized.

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't stop hurting people. All I cause is pain."

Jasper spoke up.

"Jane, I'm sorry to rush you but can you please get to the information about the _Night Stalker_."

"Oh, certainly. Sorry for the delay. You may want to turn on your recorder there or take some notes."

Jasper turned on the recorder and took out his small notepad indicating the time, date, who he was speaking to and what about into the recorder. He advised her of her rights and told her that if she would like an attorney present before she speaks, they could come back another day after she arranged for it."

Jane openly laughed at him.

"We better get this done right now, Detective."

"You can call me Jasper, Jane."

She slid the other manila folder to Jasper.

"In there you'll find my son's birth certificate and pictures of him up until his sixteenth birthday."

Jasper opened the folder and pushed the birth certificate to the side. His eyes widened when he got to the pictures. He held up the last one of a very effeminate-looking teenager with long blond hair. This could very well be a picture of the _Night Stalker_. Bella had told Edward when she saw the delivery man that morning, she thought his eyes were blue. He slid the picture over to Edward who looked up at Jane quickly.

"This is your son?"

She nodded.

"The one that lives with your brother?"

"My brother's dead, Cullen. He was a Navy Seal. He had learned how to kill proficiently and professionally. When he saw how much Emmanuel looked like our step-father, he killed him…for me. He was good at killing and he couldn't find good steady work once he finished with the military, so he became a gun for hire while he worked temp jobs in warehouses during the day."

Edward's head snapped up at her.

"Your brother was a hit man?"

She nodded, "That's how I met the Volturi. Aro was there one day when I stopped by to visit my brother and check in on Emmanuel. He wanted me in his stable of escorts. He wanted to own me so he made it happen with the fake marriage. My brother wanted to kill Aro but I told him that I was safest with him. There was no way I was going back to school or anything normal and at least Aro would serve as a protection against another pimp, so he might as well let me go. He had already killed three of my pimps and tried to get me to come back and live with him. He listened to me finally because he knew we were both all fucked up. Where I always caused pain, he always left a trail of cold. Death surrounded him everywhere he went. It seemed like we were destined for the type of lives we were leading."

Jasper was listening quietly but he had turned off the recorder since this wasn't pertaining to the _Night Stalker_.

"Anyway, the brothers paid Alec well for interrogations, torture, murder and any other dirty work they didn't want to do personally. He put almost every penny aside for my sons. He knew James was going to need lots of therapy and possibly a sex change operation. He didn't have testes or any male genitalia so he started to grow the secondary characteristics of a woman when he hit puberty."

Edward was shocked because he didn't know anything about what a castrated male would go through or how it would affect his development.

"Did he know how he ended up that way?"

"Alec told him as soon as possible what happened to him and who did it. He told him that his aunt was a sick woman and she was dead now. Alec was the one that killed her in that hotel room. He never told me but I knew. It was his style."

Jasper was on the edge of his seat now.

"There was a baby in that hotel room. Was it possible she was going to be sold or something?"

Jane shrugged her shoulders.

"Possibly. She could've stolen the baby from a hospital in Toronto and brought her into the States. I really don't know. Alec wouldn't have hurt a baby. Even he had his limits."

"Did your brother show James pictures of Heidi?"

"Yeah, he told her she was evil incarnate and he didn't deserve what happened to him."

Edward shook his head thinking that was the wrong thing to tell a physically and emotionally scarred kid.

"Did James and Emmanuel know what Alec did when he wasn't working in warehouses?"

"Emmanuel didn't. Alec sent him away to boarding school as soon as he finished junior high. He kept James with him. James knew. They would come to visit me a lot back then."

Jasper asked,

"How did your brother die?"

"In a car accident."

"_Was_ it an accident?" Edward asked.

"Yes it was. He'd been drinking because of something that happened to James."

She took a deep breath and continued.

"When he turned thirteen, Alec suggested to James that he try living like a girl. He thought it would be simple enough and that he could just call himself Jamie. James seemed to be doing okay as Jamie for three years. He had a few friends and everything. Then, one day a few guys cornered him and raped him after a football game. They got particularly violent after they found out he wasn't really a girl. He was in the hospital from his injuries for months. That's why Alec was drinking. He thought he was protecting his nephew by allowing him to live according to the way he looked but he didn't count on him being raped and beaten to near death. He ran into a tree and was thrown from the car. The impact broke his neck. They said that his death must have been instant."

Edward and Jasper were speechless.

"The last picture I received was from a facility Emmanuel had put James in. It was from his therapist. Emmanuel visited me and told me that James was different. He had split. He would be different people at different times. Sometimes James was a male and sometimes the personality was female. The therapist couldn't talk to me about him because of doctor/patient confidentiality but I knew that James would never be alright."

"James must be around 25 now right? Has he been to visit you since your brother died?" Edward was very curious about why she decided to come forward now.

"No. James hasn't been to visit but _Raven_ has."

Jasper dropped the pen he was holding.

"What? Raven showed up to visit you?"

"Yeah, Raven was pretending to be a Northwestern University Journalism student interviewing me about death row. She gave the name _Raven Anderson_ but I could tell _she_ was James. I was scared to say anything. I've done research on Dissociative Identity Disorder and I didn't think it would've been wise or safe to ask her about James. I know that sounds crazy. Then, I saw the picture of _Raven_ on the news and I knew I had to do something as soon as possible."

"How did you recognize him?"

Edward asked really flabbergasted at this information. Everything sounded crazy. She was right about that.

"I'm his mother, Cullen. It doesn't matter what color his hair his, how dark his glasses are or even if he is dressed up like a she; I will always recognize my son."

Edward recognized the similarities himself. He supposed James mother would see it even more easily.

"Why didn't you come forward earlier?"

"I was trying to get in touch with him after I saw the first pictures of him on the news. I wasn't 100% positive it was him at the time. He had left the hospital, obviously. Emmanuel didn't know where he was and he was busy with his new career. I couldn't verify my suspicions. Then, he showed up as a different personality. I knew then he was the _Night Stalker, _especially after I saw pictures of the victims on the looks like he's trying to kill Heidi over and over again._"_

Edward didn't have his cell phone so he couldn't show her a picture of Isabella.

"Jane, James is trying to kill a woman named Isabella Swan. She looks like she could be a twin of Heidi's. He's fixated on her and me. Why would he be fixated on me?"

"When he was younger he asked me about how I ended up in prison. I told him the truth. I told him I killed an FBI Agent named Edward Masen. When he asked me why, I told him about my feelings for your father. I also told him I was wrong, that he was a good man with a family and a son and that you two have a name in common. I didn't think he would fixate on you. I thought telling him the truth would set his mind at ease and give him strength when someone tried to tell him a lie about me. Alec told me that James felt that if Edward Masen hadn't betrayed me, his life would've been different. He felt that you got the life he would've had if Heidi hadn't castrated him."

Jasper and Edward looked at each other. They both realized that this situation was much worse than they thought. They were dealing with a man that probably couldn't even remember half of the things he had done. If they did catch him, he'd probably end up in an institution for the rest of his life.

"Jane, is there any way for me to get in touch with your other son?"

"Yes, in fact, he just started a medical practice in Chicago. He just bought out your father's practice.

Edward looked at her completely astounded.

"Your son is the doctor that just bought my father's practice? Does he know that you know my pop?"

Jane nodded.

"I suggested that he search out Dr. Cullen when looking for a mentor. When Emmanuel told me Carlisle was retiring, I thought it would be good to buy his practice from him."

"Did _Raven_ leave you any contact information?" Jasper asked.

She nodded to the folder and said there's a copy of a business card among the papers.

Edward and Jasper finished talking to Jane about Emmanuel and James. Jane's parting words to him shook him to the core.

"E-Ed-Edward!"

He turned around and watched the shackled woman as she shouted out the name it hurt for her to call him.

"You're what happens when your parents raise you right. Look at what my parents produced: two killers and one of them just so happens to be a whore, as well. Then, I produced a killer. Sometimes the fruit is so rotten nothing good can come from it, even down the line. If you have to end my son's life to stop this killing, do what you have to do and I'll see him again soon, hopefully, in a better place. My son is the way he is because of somebody else's evil. Sometimes I think it would have been better if they found him dead the day he was castrated. Maybe God will have some mercy on both of our souls."

"Jane, you have a son that's a doctor. He has your genes. Don't ever forget that." All Edward felt was heart-broken for her.

"He's a doctor because he got as far away from this family as he possibly could and stayed away. He was smart. Nothing but pain comes from being around me."

She turned around quickly asking the guards to take her back. Without even turning around she yelled out.

"Don't let Isabella Swan die, Edward. Get to my son before he gets to her. I can't die with that on my conscience and I know you can't live with it on yours."

He watched as her form disappeared behind the heavy metal door, the woman that killed his father because she loved him and couldn't have him. Now, he and Jasper were off to find her gender confused mentally ill son that he shared a name with. Meanwhile, he wanted to go and see Emmanuel Anderson, her older son that took over his father's medical practice. He had a few questions for him, as well.

The Warden walked them back to his office and had them sit down.

"So, was your conversation with Jane helpful to your case?" Moresini asked as he leaned back on the front of his desk.

"Yes, very much so." Jasper said with an almost sad tone to his voice.

"She's been through quite a bit in her life hasn't she?"

They both nodded.

"Phil, she thinks she's going to be murdered before the end of next week for talking to us. Is there anything you can do to protect her? We may need to talk to her again." Jasper rushed out.

The Warden held his head down.

"I'm doing everything I can to protect her. I have her isolated from the rest of the prisoners and only have staff I feel like I can trust around her at all times. Be that as it may, I can't be here 24/7. People call off and replacements come in that I'm not aware of. I can't protect her from everything that could happen. Now, let's face facts. These guards don't get paid a lot and they don't get a lot of respect for what they do. Most people consider them glorified security guards. The only reason a lot of them are here is because they couldn't be cops for one reason or the other. If somebody tosses enough money at them, who knows what they might do."

"Well, what about transferring her to a federal facility?"Jasper asked desperately.

"There was a big brouhaha made about how the case would be handled after she was arrested and charged, what jurisdiction and all of that. The federal prosecutors allowed her to be tried by the state because Illinois administered the death penalty at the time. She looked so vulnerable and she was just as much a victim of the Volturi as anyone else. They wanted the sensational nature of her crime separated from the rest of the Volturi and the RICO charges against them. They thought it would overshadow their case against the organization. I don't know if she could be placed in a federal prison now. That would have to go through her attorneys and the courts."

They were all silent until the Warden interrupted.

"Look, I've been praying about Jane for years. There's a stark reality that none of us really want to talk about. Jane is ready to die. After her appeals were exhausted she had prepared herself to move on. She's been here for twenty-five years, which includes seven years on the row. Part of her watch is a suicide watch. She's not getting out even if they lift the death penalty and she doesn't want to die an old lady in here. What if the Illinois legislature ends the death penalty? She's back in general population. Think about the woman you just saw. These women would eat her alive in here. She had to fight every day when she was in GP before. The warden before me had to put her in segregation even before she was put on the row. I am of the sincere belief that if the Volturi don't have her killed, she's thinking about doing something to herself."

"Is there any way for the Volturi to be isolated where they are. Marcus is up for parole soon. Do you think he'd do something to jeopardize that?" Edward pleaded.

Moresini actually chuckled at him.

"The Volturi are in maximum security federal prisons. Caius is on lockdown for 23 hours out of 24 and Marcus is in segregation and on lockdown most of the day in a separate facility. They are both managing to communicate with each other and run a major criminal enterprise from these "isolated" places. If they are determined to get to Jane, they will get to her. I guarantee you that nothing they have done to her will be traced back to either of them in any way that the courts can prove."

"So, you're saying there's nothing that can be done to keep this woman alive?" Jasper said with anger in his voice.

Phil Moresini looked Jasper in the eyes and said with all sincerity,

"Do you believe in God, son? We can pray."

Jasper shot up out of his chair almost knocking it over and extended his hand.

"Thank you, Warden. We have to be on our way back now. Do we need to be escorted out?" Jasper had a grim expression on his face.

"Yes, but I don't have to walk you out. I'll have a C.O. walk you to the door and you can be on your way home."

Edward got up from his chair slowly a little dizzy from the abruptness of the ending of their conversation. He extended his hand and said,

"Phil, it's been nice meeting you. Thank you for everything you've done for us here." He leaned in so that he could say quietly, "Thank you for being a good man. I think Jane needed to know there was more than one out there."

Moresini leaned back, looked up at Edward, smiled and patted his cheek.

"Now she knows there's at least two more besides me. You and Jasper have a safe trip back."

They shook hands again and before they could get out the door all the way the Warden shouted,

"Hey, keep that racing machine at the speed limit on the way out of here!"

Edward turned his head to Moresini and he winked at him. News must travel fast in Dwight. He chuckled lightly as he left Moresini's office.

Jasper was eerily quiet as they left the building. They both shielded their eyes with their hands as they adjusted to the sunlight. It was only 2 p.m. when they left. It felt like it should be twilight and a little chilly when they left there, as though the weather should correspond with their moods. Nevertheless, it was still as warm and sunny as ever. Sometimes the weather could be cruel.

Jasper was mumbling and grumbling about not even knowing if God exists and quietly calling what Warden Moresini was saying earlier bullshit. Edward knew he wasn't really talking to him, so he just let him finish his grumbling.

They headed straight to Edward's trunk and pulled out their guns and phones. They both put on their weapons and their badges. This was going to be a long day and they had a little over an hour before they could get anything done.

"I kind of wish I would've taken Captain Morris up on his offer for an escort now."

"Shit, Cullen. I feel like I've been hit over the head repeatedly with a bag full of bricks. What do we even do first? I think I need the drive time to sort through things in my head. Let's check our messages before we move out."

When Edward plugged his phone into the car charger, he saw that he had two missed calls and a voicemail.

One of the missed calls was from Isabella. The other was private. He called her back first and she answered on the first ring.

"_Edward?"_

Her voice sounded off.

"Hey, baby, what's going on? Did you read my note?"

"_Of course I read it. I'm fine, sweetheart. It's just a few bruises. I told you to stop worrying about that. Are you on your way back? How did everything go?"_

"Good, Isabella, what's going on? Why do you sound like something's happened?"

"_Everything's fine. Everyone's here. Amanda's okay."_

"Baby, you're scaring the shit out of me. I wasn't concerned that Amanda wasn't okay. Will you tell me what's going on right now?

"_I'll tell you when you get back. Hurry home."_

It looked as though Jasper's call had ended as abruptly as Edward's. He was sure they had matching looks of confusion and worry on their faces.

"Did you talk to Mae Mae?"

"Yeah, if that's what you want to call it."

"She didn't tell you what the fuck was going on either?"

"No. She kept saying she'd tell me when I got to Naperville."

Edward called his voicemail:

"_Detective Cullen, long time no hear from. Did you miss me? That little Amanda is a peach. It would've been so easy to take a bite. See you soon."_

Jasper looked at him expectantly.

"That was the _Night Stalker_ on my voicemail. I guess we can go ahead and call him James now. Somehow he's had access to Amanda and they didn't want us to know about it. Let's get on the road. You drive. He ended the call with "See you soon." That shit's not good. I have a couple of calls I have to make and I want to look through that file Jane gave you."

Oddly, he wasn't anxious and his hands weren't shaking. He thought that maybe the _Paxil_ he had taken earlier hadn't worn off. However, somewhere deep inside of him, he knew his conversation with Jane had changed him in a permanent way for the better. They finally were a couple of steps ahead of the _Night Stalker_, or James Anderson, a.k.a. Raven, a.k.a. Jamie and who knows how many other personalities.

He tossed the keys to Jasper, who smiled for the first time since they left the Warden's office. Now _that_ made him nervous.

"Drive like you have good sense, Jazz."

He saluted Edward.

"Yessir." Edward was yelling at Jasper to slow down as they peeled out of the parking lot of Dwight Correctional Facility.

****DBW****

_**A/N: As you can probably imagine, this was one of the most difficult chapters for me to write so far….lol I know it's a lot to process and very long. I apologize for my inability to be concise. My wonderific beta, Aniseed helped me TREMENDOUSLY. My pre-reader is THE BEST and she helped me have the confidence to keep going. I love you both to death.**_

_**Thanks for all the reviews! I get so excited when I open my mail and see them. *Hugs to you all.* **_

"_**The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five is on YouTube:**_

_**http: / /www . /watch?v = O4o8TeqKhgY**_

"_**Fight the Power" by Public Enemy is there, too: **_

_**http: / www . /watch?v = 2WHe5fxS3dA**_

**No recs this week. I'm still trying to keep up with some stories I really like so I'm trying not to start anything new. **

**Enjoy the rest of the week everybody!**


	28. Chapter 28

_**A/N: I'm sorry for the delay everyone. I have broken my lap top and I don't know when it will be repaired or replaced, so my story is on hiatus until I figure out a solution. I hope it won't be too long. I'm sorry once again.  
**_


	29. Chapter 29

_**A/N**_: Here it Is. I'm sorry for the wait. There are about ten chapters left, more or less, based on my new outline. They're going to be much shorter than my previous chapters. :) I want to sincerely thank Kimmie40, Anna of Greece, Humble4( my wonderful pre-reader), Aniseed (my wonderful beta), Flavia Ribeiro, Belli486, Thaigher lillie, my brother and everyone else who encouraged me not to give up on this story. I hope everyone had a great holidays!

I especially want to thank Kimmie40 and Thaigher lillie for providing their beta skills. They are wonderful ladies. :) Annie and Gemma, thanks for putting up with me patiently all of these months. :)

_**Disclaimer**_: _**All characters in this story belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The non-Twilight characters are my creation and belong to me. :) All music, poems, and other works belong to the respective artists and no copyright infringement is intended.**_

**Chapter 28 – Losing the Mask**

Being a passenger on the ride home with the window partially lowered was exactly what Edward needed. Chicago in the fall held mesmerizing beauty that he rarely had time to notice as a driver, especially considering his mind was always preoccupied with murder, serial killers and, as of late, his love life. The kaleidoscope of burnt oranges, reds, and browns that were zipping past his eyes against the backdrop of the ubiquitous Chicago skyline immediately lulled him into a meditative state. These images reminded him of chestnut hair bathed in sunlight and autumnal eyes brimming with love for him on the verge of surrendering to sleep. He let the cool wind wash over his face and watched as the frigid waters of Lake Michigan whipped against the shore, shaping it and degrading it, yet enthralling in its raw power.

_Renewed_. Oddly, that was the overwhelming feeling that permeated his body as he began his journey home. He was not a monster and his mother wasn't dead because of his disobedience and carelessness. All the child psychologists, friendly affirmations, and love from his family couldn't do what Jane Anderson did with her revelations; she peeled away the last vestiges of his mask. His feigned composure had been falling away little by little over the years due to the wear and tear on his psyche and sheer panic.

He took deep cleansing breaths through his nose and out of his mouth, unhinging his jaw to allow the air to flow more freely. The car's side mirror reflected back to him an image that mocked his Zen state. While making a concerted effort not to look away from the evidence of his misdeeds, his fingers delicately probed the dark bruise caused by his careless words from the previous day. Noting that the spot was no longer sore caused a pang of guilt and a queasiness in his stomach.

_Isabella._

He had been away from her and Amanda all day. Their fight and the way they made up afterward made him squirm in his seat due to its intensity and his discomfort with how little they had really spoken afterward. Once again, he began doubting whether he could truly put the monster to bed, or if it would always be lurking, waiting to come out in some other form. His anger had been a problem since childhood, causing him to say things without thinking and act impulsively in other ways. Bella matched him in passion and reactionary behavior.

There was no doubt in his mind she was _the one_ for him, on the one hand. Conversely, it was imperative they find a way to communicate calmly or their relationship was going to be a very tumultuous one. The pernicious feelings of disappointment in his behavior came seeping back into his body. She didn't seem as though she was still angry about the things he said to her. Nevertheless, he had seen the results of festering resentment. In fact, the city and the woman he loved were currently being stalked by the result of the aforementioned emotional rot. One of his goals was to try with every ounce of his being to prevent this type of decay in their relationship. Another goal he had was to tell her absolutely everything about his romantic past in order for her to never jump to the wrong conclusion again.

Familiar tension occupied his body as he imagined the physical and emotional pain he caused Bella. Images of the finger-shaped bruises on her delicate skin and the disapproval in his parents' eyes every time he acted on his baser instincts caused him to squeeze his eyes shut against the wind that had refreshed him moments earlier. Bella's earlier phone call and her message began to loop in his mind, which brought him back into the moment causing his focus to vacillate between the conversations Jasper was having over the car's speakerphone and the admonitions that were plaguing his mind.

"Captain Morris, we'll be meeting the team at Cullen's house in Naperville and we'll brief you up to speed on our plans to move forward within 24 hours. Also, we'll get you a written report on our meeting with Jane Anderson. We know who the _Night Stalker_ is, but we have to find the best way to pursue him without alerting him to how much we know. This is the first time we've known something that he isn't aware we know."

"_Any plans you make have to be a joint effort, Whitlock. We need the State police and the FBI to help us in case he tries to run. I'll give final approval to move forward once I get those reports and we have a complete team in place. We want this done right. How's Cullen doing?"_

Jasper could sense the mercurial nature of Edward's mood, despite how busy he had been trying to get the ball rolling on finding James over the phone.

"He's hanging in there, sir. We're on speakerphone. He can hear you." Jasper looked at Edward's profile expectantly, but he seemed lost in his own little world.

"_Edward, you doing alright since you spoke to Jane?"_ Captain Morris repeated loudly, suspecting Edward couldn't hear him over the car noise.

Jasper lightly punched his shoulder, breaking him out of his daze with a look of concern.

"What?" Edward asked distractedly.

"Captain Morris asked if you're okay since you spoke to Jane."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry. I'm fine."

There was a slight pause before Morris finally cleared his throat and continued,

"_Good. Well, I'm anxious to see those reports so we can get moving and put this guy away."_

They both responded affirmatively and the call ended, leaving an awkward silence hanging heavily in the air.

"Edward, we're almost home. Are you alright? Do you need to stop and get something to eat before we get too busy?"

He practically shouted, "No! I need to see Isabella and Amanda to find out what the hell is going on. I can grab a sandwich at home. I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine, Edward. For a minute you seemed...I don't know...calm. Then, I could see you start to tense up again and you completely zoned out. Is there anything you wanted to talk about before we get home?" Jasper slowed down to under the speed limit after they were off of the expressway and back on the main streets of Naperville.

"Nah, man. I'm good." Edward's grin didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Well, I wasn't able to get much information from Lisa because she was the one who told Alice and Bella to wait for us to get there before they reveal what's going on. So, I guess all we can do is hurry up and wait. She assured me that everyone is fine, though, which worries the shit out of me because I have no idea why they wouldn't be." Jasper huffed and Edward patted him on the shoulder.

"We'll be at the house in five minutes and find out soon enough." He ran his hand through his locks and tugged on the ends, silently praying that they were being told the truth and everyone was really okay.

****DBW****

Bella was surrounded on the couch in the Cullen's living room. Amanda was asleep with her head in her lap. Lisa was on one side of her typing notes with her laptop. Esme was on the other side with Amanda's feet in her lap looking completely distraught no matter how many times she was told that nothing that happened was her fault.

When Edward and Jasper walked in the door the whole room turned to watch them. Lisa, Alistair and Victoria were there and two other detectives that had just joined Jasper's team. Alice ran over to Jasper and nearly climbed up his body giving him a welcome back hug. Bella locked eyes with Edward and he walked right over to her and sat on his knees, needing to be at eye level.

"Edward," Lisa greeted with a head nod.

He turned his head slightly, not wanting to break eye contact, "Hey, Lisa. I just want to talk to Isabella privately for a few minutes before we get started. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, we'll be here. I'll let everybody know and take your time." She squeezed Bella's shoulder and walked over to speak with Jasper.

He looked at his mother who looked emotionally spent. She gave him a weak smile and picked Amanda up from Bella's lap.

"Mom, are you alright? We can take Manda Bear."

She shook her head, "No. No. You two go and talk. I'm going to put her to sleep in my room."

Bella took his hand and led him up to the third floor. As soon as they entered the room, Edward began his questioning.

"Baby, what is going on around here? What happened?"

She guided him over to the freshly made bed and asked him softly to stay calm. He thought about his resolution not to let the monster manifest itself as anger and rage and nodded his agreement, gritting his teeth for whatever he was about to hear.

"Your mom took the kids to get breakfast this morning. Amanda had to go to the restroom. Of course Amanda begged her to let her go on her own because 'she's six now.' Esme gave in, as anybody would, but insisted Emie go with her."

Bella paused, took a deep breath and looked away from Edward's eyes, squeezing his hands in hers.

"When they came back, they were giggling and looking at this doll. At first, Esme didn't say anything, even though she didn't remember Amanda taking a doll with her to breakfast. She noticed they were overly interested in this doll all throughout breakfast."

He interrupted, despite his promise to himself to stay calm.

"What was the big deal about the doll, baby?"

Her face drained of color and she finally looked back up into his eyes.

"Esme asked Amanda if that was the American Girl doll Carmen bought for her. She told her it was a new doll that a woman gave her in the restroom with a note attached, but the lady asked her not to read it."

Edward closed his eyes, well aware of what she was going to say next.

"Your mom read the note and it said, '_You should be more careful with the succubus' sister. We wouldn't want to add her hair to this pretty doll's head_.'"

His hands balled into fists and his breathing picked up, but he didn't feel the lightheadedness usually associated with his panic attacks. James, or someone he's working with, had followed his parents and the girls out to Evanston after the birthday party. Or, he had been watching his brother's house waiting for someone to come home. The most frightening realization was that both scenarios could be right. Although they knew James was dressing and living as a woman at times, there was still the possibility that he had a female accomplice.

"Lisa has the doll and the note?"

"Yes, Esme called her right away after she read that note. She and Emie said it was a woman a little taller than Angela with blond curly hair. Lisa called me and let me know Amanda was okay and everyone was on their way out to Naperville to wait for you two."

Edward squeezed her hands back, as she had never let go of his while they were speaking.

"Did this woman...touch Amanda or Emie?"

She shook her head vigorously and said adamantly, "No. Emie and Amanda said she handed them the doll, told them not to read the note and walked out of the door."

He breathed a sigh of relief because he didn't know what he would do if either one of them had been physically harmed.

"Well, I better get back downstairs and catch up with what's going on. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay now that you're back. I wasn't at first. I was worried about you being around Jane and I had to explain to Amanda why everyone was so worried about her and Emie. I've tried to protect her from danger and make sure she knows she's loved and wanted. The moment she finally feels safe and confident enough to go to the bathroom by herself, she gets swarmed by security and police officers."

He rubbed her back in small comforting circles, feeling for the first time that he wasn't completely helpless to allay her fears while she continued to tell him what was on her mind.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away what was going on. Lisa had advised us to keep everything quiet until they could get some of the team out here and find out what you learned from Jane about the _Night Stalker. _Rose and Em had their security team meet them at the restaurant and they took Emie home_. _They were freaking out and beating themselves up over not sending their security with your parents last night.

"I was scared to death, but I didn't want you to feel the same while you were out there trying to deal with Jane. I tried to convince Esme it's not her fault, but she wouldn't listen and she's beating herself up pretty badly for not insisting she go to the bathroom with them. Carlisle wasn't with them and he's berating himself about staying back at the house while they went out. I'm mostly worried about Esme, though."

He was overwhelmed that she was so concerned about his feelings and his family when her sister had been in danger. Truly amazed by her selflessness, he leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry about Esme, baby. She's strong and resilient." _Just like you._ "I should've made sure that somebody was watching them this morning, but with all that happened between us I wasn't thinking straight."

They inched closer to each other and Bella kissed his jaw where he was bruised.

"Edward, that was just as much my fault as it was yours."

He wondered if she was referring to Amanda's safety, their fight or both.

"No. This is not your fault at all. Not only did I slip as a professional, but I've also been slack in showing you and Amanda that you are my priority from here on out. It won't happen again. Please forgive me."

His earnest plea and allusion to their future made her climb in his lap and give him a tight hug, which he returned enthusiastically.

"We found out a lot of information from Jane that we can use to track him. We know his name and a couple of other things he doesn't know we know. For the first time, we're a couple of steps ahead of him. The downside is that I have to tell my parents some things that are going to be hard for them to take and my mom is already emotional about what happened with Amanda. Jane basically confirmed what Alistair told us about Liam O'Keefe."

Her eyes widened and she searched his face for signs of distress.

"I'm okay, baby. I'm really okay. We're both going to get some closure there really soon. The things she told me gave me some peace for the first time since I was Amanda's age. How is Amanda? Does she know what's going on?"

"Unfortunately, she's acutely aware of what's going on and she feels that she let everybody down because she begged to go the restroom by herself."

Edward growled deep in his chest. He didn't want to see her go through her life beating up herself like he did. Making sure she understood that she didn't do anything wrong was one of his top priorities.

"Baby, I have to go downstairs and meet up with everybody. I'll fill you in on everything as soon as we've come up with a solid plan. We'll talk to Manda Bear together, okay?"

"Okay. I'm gonna stay out of the way and spend some time with Esme and Alice while Amanda sleeps. Go get this bastard. He fucked with the wrong kids." The fierce look on her face made him feel a sense of pride, oddly. This was _his_ Isabella-extraordinarily loving, nurturing, fiercely devoted to the people she loves, passionate and downright sexy. He adored her.

She squeezed him to her chest again, making sure he could feel her love for and faith in him. He walked towards the door feeling stronger than he's felt in years.

"Edward!"

He stopped and turned around before he headed out the door.

"Yeah, baby?"

"What's his name?"

"James Edward Anderson."

She looked startled.

"His middle name is 'Edward?'"

"Sweetheart, I have _a lot_ to tell you when we get some real time to talk."

He reluctantly closed the door on Bella's ruminative face and went to join his fellow officers in the living room. The questions in her gem-like eyes made it hard for him to walk away. Regrettably, the answers had to wait for just a little while longer.

****DBW***

_**A/N**_: My goal is to post every Monday before midnight until the story ends. If I can't keep to that schedule, I'll let everyone know. I know I haven't been the best, even by a long shot, at keeping my word on deadlines and they still make me nervous. However, I'm going to give it my best effort. {{{Cue eye roll from readers}}}

Anywho, once again, thanks for being patient, reading, reviewing, rec'ing, and putting my story on alert. It makes my day and keeps me writing. Happy New Year!


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